Thanksgiving is a natural occasion to discuss estates and wealth more generally.CSA-Printstock/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
On Monday, approximately 55 potential heirs of the world’s largest frozen French fry maker were invited by e-mail to attend a virtual meeting about the ownership of the $20-billion company.
As the Globe’s Andrew Willis reported, Eleanor McCain called the meeting to discuss an initial public offering that would allow heirs to cash in on their inheritances from privately owned McCain Foods Ltd. Family members were permitted to attend anonymously.
Now, it may just be a coincidence that the meeting falls on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, but the holiday does lend itself to the difficult conversations families spend most of the year avoiding – even if wealth managers likely wouldn’t recommend discussing family fortunes virtually and under the cloak of anonymity.
In many cases, the human obstacles of laziness, discomfort and procrastination delay these conversations until it’s too late. But that may be starting to change, Helen Burnett-Nichols wrote this week, as more clients initiate next-generation planning discussions before circumstances force them to. She provided these five steps for advisors organizing such a meeting.
Thanksgiving provides an appropriate occasion. There aren’t the commercial distractions of Christmas and it’s (often) the season to be outdoors, providing a more comfortable backdrop than sitting across from family members at a dining table. As Barbara Balfour reported in a previous article about Thanksgiving money conversations, there’s nothing wrong with avoiding eye contact, so go ahead and pick up that rake or pickleball racquet.
Some families also use the last long weekend of reasonably good weather to close the cottage. Introducing the next generation to the pleasures of removing a dock or winterizing a screened porch is as good a time as any to ask who wants to eventually take over this less glamorous side of ownership. Advisor Amanda Baxter recently wrote this primer on how to talk to heirs about the family cottage.
What are your tips for client families gathering over Turkey? Let me know. And enjoy the long weekend.
– Mark Burgess, Globe Advisor assistant editor
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