Starting or Creating a Family Office Questions and Answers
100 questions on starting or creating a family office answered by Richard C. Wilson. The practical work of setting up a single family office: structure, budget, first hires, providers, policies and the first year.
All 100 Questions
- Which events in a family's wealth history usually trigger the creation of a family office?
- How can a family tell whether its needs have outgrown its current wealth management arrangements?
- What should a family office be responsible for from day one?
- Which services should a new family office keep in-house, and which should it outsource?
- How should a family define the purpose and scope of its new office?
- How can a family decide which generations and branches the office will serve?
- Should the office serve only the wealth creator or the whole family?
- How can a family set boundaries between personal needs and office responsibilities?
- What should a family agree on before hiring its first outside executive?
- How can a family test whether its members are ready to share decision-making?
- What information should a family gather before planning a new office?
- How can a family estimate the workload a new office will need to handle?
- Which family needs are most often overlooked during the planning stage?
- How should a family prioritize its needs when the budget is limited?
- What is the best way to compare building an office with outsourcing its functions?
- When is a lean office preferable to a fully staffed operation?
- How can a family phase in office services without disrupting existing arrangements?
- What milestones should guide the creation of a family office?
- What decisions need to be made before the office begins operating?
- How can a family keep the setup project from expanding beyond its original scope?
- What should a family office startup budget account for besides salaries?
- How much working capital should a new office keep available?
- How should a family estimate setup expenses before choosing a structure?
- Which startup costs are one-time expenses and which recur every year?
- How can a family compare the cost of in-house staff with outside specialists?
- What financial assumptions should a family use when modeling office costs?
- How should a family track setup spending against its approved budget?
- What staffing costs are easiest to underestimate when opening an office?
- How much should a new office budget for insurance, compliance, and administration?
- What costs arise when an office serves family members in multiple countries?
- How can a family determine whether a proposed office has enough work to justify its cost?
- What level of service can a family expect at different operating budgets?
- How should a family handle costs when some relatives use the office more than others?
- What is a fair way to allocate office expenses among family branches?
- How should a family decide who pays for services used by individual relatives?
- What records should support the office's expense allocation decisions?
- Which ownership and operating structures should a family compare before launch?
- How does the choice of structure affect who controls the office?
- How should ownership of the office be separated from ownership of family assets?
- What governance arrangements can protect the office from one person's unilateral decisions?
- How can a family structure the office to serve several generations?
- What should a family consider when the wealth creator wants to retain control?
- How can a family office be designed to support multiple households?
- What happens to the office structure when the wealth creator dies or becomes incapacitated?
- How should a family office coordinate with trusts and other family entities?
- Which regulatory questions should be addressed before opening the office?
- How can a family determine whether its planned activities require professional registration?
- What compliance responsibilities can arise from employing family office staff?
- How should a new office document conflicts of interest?
- What safeguards help prevent family assets from being confused with office assets?
- How can a family decide who has authority to approve spending and investments?
- What approval limits should a new family office put in place?
- How should the office handle payments requested by family members?
- What separation of duties is practical for a small family office?
- How should a new office document its procedures before staff begin work?
- Which recurring processes should be mapped before opening the office?
- How can a family office create a reliable record of its assets and liabilities?
- What information should the office collect from banks, custodians, and advisers?
- How can a family reconcile financial information from several institutions?
- What reporting responsibilities should be assigned before the first report is due?
- How should a new office organize contracts, tax records, and estate documents?
- What should a family office do when family records are incomplete or inconsistent?
- How can the office prepare for tax filing deadlines across multiple entities?
- What is a practical process for handling invoices and reimbursements?
- How can a new office plan for business continuity if its first employee is unavailable?
- What due diligence should a family conduct before hiring an executive?
- How can a family assess whether a candidate can work well with relatives?
- What experience matters most in the first senior family office hire?
- Should the first hire be an administrator, controller, chief of staff, or investment professional?
- How can a family avoid hiring a senior executive before the role is clearly defined?
- What should a family include in a family office executive's job description?
- How can the office set performance goals for its first employees?
- Who should supervise the office's senior executive?
- How can a family give its office leader enough authority to do the job?
- What should happen when family members disagree with the office executive?
- How should a new office set expectations for confidentiality with employees?
- What background checks are appropriate for family office employees?
- How can the office avoid relying too heavily on one employee?
- What training should new staff receive before handling sensitive family information?
- How can a family assess whether its culture is a good fit for an outside hire?
- What should a family consider before placing a relative in an office role?
- How can relatives avoid mixing family disagreements with employee performance reviews?
- What is a sensible way to pay family members who work in the office?
- How can a new office establish a professional culture while respecting family traditions?
- What should a family do if its first hire is not working out?
- How can a family office build trust with relatives who are skeptical of the new operation?
- What communication plan helps family members understand the office's role?
- How should a family gather input from relatives who live far apart?
- What information should relatives receive about the office's costs and results?
- How can a family manage expectations when the office cannot provide every requested service?
- What should the office do when family members disagree about its priorities?
- How can a new family office coordinate with existing advisers without creating confusion?
- What should the family office ask existing advisers to provide during the transition?
- How can a family prevent gaps in service while moving responsibilities into a new office?
- What should be included in a transition plan for accounts, records, and relationships?
- How can the office evaluate outside service providers before engaging them?
- What should a family consider when choosing which work to outsource first?
- How can a new office monitor the quality of work performed by outside providers?
- Who should own the relationship with each outside adviser?
- How can a family avoid duplicating services already provided by its advisers?