Wealth Doesn't Fail in the Third Generation by Accident.
It fails because the plan was never coordinated, the documents were never updated, and the next generation was never prepared. Your FinancialTeam is built to prevent all three.
What we hear from families
Are our trusts actually doing what we think they're doing, or are we relying on documents no one has reviewed in years?
Are our children prepared to handle this responsibly, or are we just hoping it works out?
Is our tax strategy proactive, or are we finding out what we owe every April?
If something happened to one of us tomorrow, would the other know where everything is?
Are we giving enough away, or too much, or at the wrong time?
Are our trusts actually doing what we think they're doing, or are we relying on documents no one has reviewed in years?
Are our children prepared to handle this responsibly, or are we just hoping it works out?
Is our tax strategy proactive, or are we finding out what we owe every April?
If something happened to one of us tomorrow, would the other know where everything is?
Are we giving enough away, or too much, or at the wrong time?
Are our trusts actually doing what we think they're doing, or are we relying on documents no one has reviewed in years?
Are our children prepared to handle this responsibly, or are we just hoping it works out?
Is our tax strategy proactive, or are we finding out what we owe every April?
If something happened to one of us tomorrow, would the other know where everything is?
Are we giving enough away, or too much, or at the wrong time?
What Multigenerational Wealth Requires
Four problems that compound if no one is coordinating them.
Your CPA files the returns. Your attorney drafted the trusts. Your advisor manages the portfolio. But who is making sure they all fit together?
Most families assemble capable professionals independently, and each one does good work in isolation. The problem is that no one owns the complete picture. Your investment advisor rebalances without consulting your CPA on the tax consequences. Your estate attorney drafts trusts that don’t reflect your current portfolio structure. Your CPA files returns without visibility into the estate plan. The gaps between these professionals are where wealth quietly erodes. Your FinancialTeam sits at the center, coordinating every decision across every discipline so the strategy works as one system.
- Quarterly reviews that integrate investment, tax, estate, and planning updates in a single meeting
- Year-round coordination with your CPA and estate attorney on every material decision
- Your Personal Financial Website: every account, entity, and trust consolidated into one live dashboard
- A single point of contact for your family across all financial disciplines
What This Looks Like In Practice
A family with $8M across twelve accounts, three trusts, and two generations of conflicting documents.
The initial audit revealed that one irrevocable trust had never been funded, a beneficiary designation on a $1.2M IRA contradicted the will, and the family was overpaying approximately $40,000 per year in taxes due to uncoordinated withdrawals across account types. Within the first six months, the FinancialTeam consolidated reporting into a single Personal Financial Website, restructured withdrawals to reduce annual tax liability, funded the dormant trust with appreciated securities to capture a step-up in basis for the next generation, and coordinated with the estate attorney to update three outdated documents. The family now reviews everything in a single quarterly meeting rather than managing four separate advisor relationships on their own.
FirsTrust is an independent firm and is not affiliated with Adidas AG or its subsidiaries.
How the Dassler Family Chose to Protect Their Legacy
In 2014, the Dassler family chose FirsTrust to design a private Family Office with global investment access and independent oversight. Three generations of Adidas legacy wealth are now managed through the Adi Dassler Family Office.
Legacy Planning FAQs
Legacy planning is driven by complexity, not a specific net worth threshold. If your family has estate planning needs, tax coordination across generations, or wealth transfer goals, your FinancialTeam can build a plan around those objectives.
The Trust & Estate specialist on our FinancialTeam has a formal education in both finance and law plus nearly 40 years of experience in this particular field. We work with you to create the plan, an estate planning attorney (your own lawyer or we can refer you to one that we have vetted) will draft the documents, and we will help you put it all together in a manner that solidifies your legacy intentions.
Research shows that most family wealth fails to survive to the third generation, and it is rarely because of poor investments. It is usually due to lack of communication, unprepared heirs, or family conflict. Your FinancialTeam helps build governance frameworks, educate the next generation, and structure trusts in ways that encourage responsibility.
A dynasty trust is designed to hold assets during your lifetime, generate income during your retirement, and transfer them to your heirs in a manner you specifically authorize, with built-in protection and federal estate tax sheltering across multiple generations. Whether it fits your situation depends on the size and structure of your estate, your state of residence, and your multigenerational goals.
Yes. FirsTrust plans for the entire lifecycle, not just document creation. When the time comes, your FinancialTeam helps trustees and heirs execute the plan, navigate around probate, coordinate asset transfers, and ensure the transition happens according to your documented wishes.