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The Family Council Consultation

Research suggests that 90 % of the wealth is lost by the time it is passed on to the third generation.

  • A Family Council needs to grow over the years

  • The Family Council needs to stay adaptable through the years and have processes in place to add and remove members of its council

  • The Family Council needs its own budget to engage with external advisors

  • The Family Council needs its own Charter that guides how it reaches decisions and how these are implemented

  • The Family Council needs to be aware of each member’s abilities and play towards these strengths. Where the abilities are not covered within the Family Council external help should be sought

The Four Abundances

Money, Time, Relationships, and Purpose are the basis of holistic Family Office Services. As a Family Council “matures” over time, the Family Council and its Four Abundances will become a source of competitive advantage compared to other families.

Abundance of Wealth

Your Wealth allows for giving your family opportunities and enabling you to engage in more and more exponential, interesting, and fulfilling projects. Most people want to keep the Abundance of Wealth in their family in perpetuity.

Abundance of Relationships

We have seen, time and again, the value of having a good team of advisors. Often, superior results are achieved through a better alignment of the advisors to the overall vision of the family.

Abundance of Time

The Abundance of Time focuses you on finding these activities. Time and again, we see clients pushed into a corner out of which they can only defensively react to what is coming towards them.

Abundance of Purpose

How can the whole family be involved in the Purpose? Imagine the cohesion within the family if everybody is working towards a common Purpose. We help our clients formulate a strategy to give purposefully and in alignment with their inner vision.

The Family Office Tools we offer

The Family Council Cards

The Family Council Cards are a set of tools helping you start the conversation within the family and see how much consensus can be found and where the obstacles lie.

The Family Council Cards are to be used exclusively by the family; without the presence of an advisor. The results from this first session then get collated into the next tool, the Family Council Canvas.

The Family Council Canvas

The Family Council Canvas is your dashboard that details the long-term (25 years), mid-term (3 years), and short-term (one quarter) goals and brings this into the context of the Vision you have. The Family Council Canvas brings together insights from the Financial Reporting, Family Council Cards, and ongoing projects into one dashboard. The Family Council Canvas allows you to get an overview and status on your way to achieving your Vision related to the Four Abundances: Wealth, Time, Relationships, and Purpose.

The Family Council Module

The Family Council Module is a collection of essential training segments allowing for a Family Council to mature and become independent and self-sustainable.

1. Providing the Family Council with a raison-d’être and the tools needed to succeed together. Much of this has to do with the shared mindset which needs to be a sense of togetherness and wanting to achieve in the future.

2. Giving the members of the Family Council an overview of the specific – not generalized – tax and legal plan prepared for the family. Each family’s situation is unique and should be treated as such.

3. Utilizing the tools learned in the previous two modules to have the Family Council appreciate and take advantage of their role.

Family Council Tools

What is a Family Council?

The Tools of a Family Council

Finding consensus in a Family Council

Aligning the Family Council with the Family’s Values.

The interaction between the Family Council and trustees, lawyers, tax advisors, asset managers, etc.

Specific Family Training

Trusts and companies

International assets

Taxation

Inheritance and wills

Moving to another country

Asset management and reporting

Preparing for Independence

Entrepreneurism

Philanthropy

Relationships and working together

Finding time to strategize

Adapting the Family’s Values

Thinking long-term

The Family Council Module

The Family Council Module is a collection of essential training segments allowing for a Family Council to mature and become independent and self-sustainable.

1.Providing the Family Council with a raison-d’être and the tools needed to succeed together. Much of this has to do with the shared mindset which needs to be a sense of togetherness and wanting to achieve in the future.

Family Council Tools

What is a Family Council?

The tools of a Family Council

Finding consensus in a Family Council

Aligning the Family Council with the family’s values.

The interaction between the Family Council and trustees, lawyers, tax advisors, asset managers, etc.

2.Giving the members of the Family Council an overview of the specific – not generalized – tax and legal plan prepared for the family. Each family’s situation is unique and should be treated as such.

Specific Family Training

Trusts and companies

International assets

Taxation

Inheritance and wills

Moving to another country

Asset management and reporting

3.Utilizing the tools learnt in the previous two modules to have the Family Council appreciate and take advantage of their role.

Preparing for Independency

Entrepreneurism

Philanthropy

Relationships and working together

Finding time to strategize

Adapting the family’s values

Thinking long-term

Common Questions About Our Consultation Services

We believe lasting family success depends on more than financial wealth alone. Families also need healthy relationships, meaningful use of time, and a shared sense of purpose.

The Four Abundances — Wealth, Time, Relationships, and Purpose — provide a framework for helping families create continuity, alignment, and long-term resilience across generations.

As families and wealth structures become more complex, decision-making can become fragmented and reactive.

Strong governance creates clarity around roles, communication, accountability, and long-term direction. We help families navigate complexity while preserving continuity and trust across generations.

Our role is to provide independent perspective, strategic guidance, and governance support across the family’s broader wealth ecosystem.

This may include helping families establish Family Councils, improve communication and decision-making processes, strengthen reporting and oversight structures, or clarify long-term strategic priorities across generations.

A Family Council is a structured forum that helps families communicate, align around priorities, and make thoughtful decisions on wealth, governance, succession, and shared purpose.

A well-functioning Family Council creates clarity, strengthens relationships, and provides future generations with a stronger sense of involvement and responsibility.

Investment structures, family relationships, governance, succession planning, and long-term purpose all influence one another.

A holistic approach helps families make decisions that,  beyond financial outcomes, support family alignment, continuity, and long-term well-being.

We believe wealth is about more than financial assets alone. True family abundance includes financial security, meaningful relationships, purposeful use of time, and a shared sense of direction across generations.

Our approach focuses on four interconnected areas: Abundance of Wealth, Time, Relationships, and Purpose. Together, they form the foundation for long-term family continuity and legacy.

Time is one of the most valuable and limited resources. Many families become consumed by operational complexity, administration, and constant decision-making.

By creating clearer structures, governance processes, and trusted advisory support, families can reduce unnecessary complexity and focus more energy on strategic decisions, relationships, and meaningful long-term goals.

Preserving wealth requires effective communication, robust governance structures, shared values, and a clear, long-term vision.

Without alignment, complexity often increases over generations and decision-making becomes fragmented. Tools such as family councils, governance frameworks, and structured conversations help families create continuity and shared direction over time.

Many families want their wealth to contribute to something meaningful. This may include philanthropy, entrepreneurship, education, or supporting long-term community initiatives.

A clear sense of purpose helps families align decisions across generations and create a legacy that extends beyond financial assets.

Contact us

The most difficult thing is often making the first step. Start a conversation with us and let us together see how your aims align with our services.

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Keeping Together 3 Gens

By |June 29, 2022|Finance|

If your family has struggled with wealth issues, you may well have heard the old saw about the loss of wealth: “from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” For those familiar with the pitfalls …

The Cecily Group

provides Family Office Services: the tools and systems to wealthy families, family councils, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices to successfully pass on a wealthy family’s abundance to the next generation.

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