That's where counseling comes in, says Hunt, who is a third-generation heir to the Alcoa Aluminum fortune.
And families take many forms, he notes.  "At one time, I got into working with internationally successful musical entities-rock bands-which function just like wealthy families. They are bound together by a passion for their music, but the reality is that over time, they get tired of each other and problems arise, emotional issues, that translate into difficulties in governance within the band. I would help smooth out those issues so that the family entity has a system of governance that works well over time."

Hunt says many Purposeful Planning clients have made their money through their own business ventures and want to maintain the stability of the entity that created the wealth. They also want to pass money down in a way that doesn't debilitate family members and discourage them from pursuing careers, he says. "A typical issue I deal with," says Hunt, "is trying to get entrepreneurs to look entrepreneurially about their family. The distinguishing feature of wealthy families is that the next generation is financially free to pursue careers that aren't all about the need to earn income.  For example, my own psychology practice doesn't support my lifestyle, but I have a real passion for it."

At Purposeful Planning seminars, Hunt says, he educates advisors on what a healthy family culture looks like and on how they can help their clients cultivate one. "In the process, advisors discover new skills they can use to differentiate themselves as well as new services, like family meetings and retreats," he adds. "Purposeful Planning gives the advisor branding and market share that's unique in terms of building intimacy and a sense of connection and belonging across generations within families."

Terri Berrenberg, owner of Berrenberg Wealth Management LLC in Albuquerque, N.M., took the Purposeful Planning training through seminars in Cincinnati and Denver. She has used it to help many clients create ethical wills, which are a good starting point for a lot of families to build a sense of teamwork and focus for the future, she says.

Berrenberg also has used Purposeful Planning with her own family. "My 30-year-old daughter and her husband were in Denver and went through the training with me," she says. "She married a young man from Oaxaca when in school there. There's a huge difference in their backgrounds, so it was neat for us all to go through the process, to talk about our family histories and discover our shared values." Berrenberg adds her family is wealthy enough to make it essential that her daughter understands how the money is being used.

Ultimately, what can your clients expect if you adopt Purposeful Planning (www.purposeful-planning.com/faculty.html)?  "First of all," says Culver, "it gets the elephant out of the middle of the family's living room.  It helps them work through past 'stuff' and get old conflicts resolved. They find shared values they express in family mission and value statements.

They agree to a 'family money tree,' which guides the sharing, saving and spending of family wealth. They discover shared philanthropic goals. And they reach new levels of intimacy and, ultimately, commit to being stakeholders in each other's lives."

An independent financial advisor since 1981, David J. Drucker, MBA, CFP® has been an industry influential for many years. Learn about his upcoming Technology Tools for Today® Conference-the industry's premier technology conference for financial advisors-at www.TechnologyToolsForToday.com.

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