Conduct an Internet audit on key family members. Check their online profiles for listings or postings on search engines, social media sites, news media sites, blogs and so forth.
Learn about social networks and photo and video sites. Find out which sites young family members are using, what is being posted and with whom they are "chatting." Remind everyone that anything posted on these sites becomes a matter of public record.
Set up a "family crisis team," that can respond to events. You might include two or three family members, the estate planning attorney, a family office advisor and a communications professional. Carry the list and the phone numbers with you.
Consider some type of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to resolve family disputes. If you can keep the information out of the courts, you can help keep the media and the public from it. ADR ensures the confidentiality of even the most sensitive or explosive issues.
Set up a simple crisis plan and tell all family members. Decide who will be the family spokesman and have that person get media training.
With a professional, find opportunities to enhance your family's name and reputation. "A strategic approach to public recognition, both in offline media and online media can shine a beacon on important values and principles," Jordan says.
Jordan believes that helping high-net-worth families and individuals protect their reputation for future generations is part of wealth management. "While we may be hesitant to tell clients how to raise their children or live their lives, it has been and remains our duty to help them preserve their wealth and legacies. In the Internet age, this takes on a special challenge," she says.
Mary Rowland can be reached at [email protected]. She has been a business and personal finance journalist for 30 years and has written two books for financial advisors: Best Practices and In Search of the Perfect Model.