Explaining Wealth Stewardship to Young Children — Susan Schoenfeld
Susan R. Schoenfeld, CEO and Founder of Wealth Legacy Advisors LLC, serves as a ‘thought partner’ to families of wealth through personal attention and human spirit. Susan is an award-winning Thought Leader; she provides guidance on legacy, next-generation, stewardship, governance, leadership succession, and philanthropy. She recently spoke to donors and professional advisors in Birmingham, Alabama.
Someone asked me recently, “How young is too young to start talking to our children about our family’s wealth?” My answer was that your children are almost never too young to start.
I had a client who shared this powerful anecdote with me. Remember that old nursery rhyme about the golden goose who laid the golden egg? This client was an inheritor of wealth herself, and she used that analogy with her children to describe her approach to handling their family’s wealth.
She told her young children that she had inherited the equivalent of a golden egg from her grandparents, and that she viewed her job as the current steward of that egg to nurture and grow it, and not to break it open and take out all the gold.
I love the notion of explaining the concept of wealth stewardship to even young children by use of a familiar story that the children are comfortable with and can relate to. These so-called “money talks” can be daunting for the parents to contemplate, but starting early and continuing them in age-appropriate ways over the years will produce a better outcome in the long-term.
Susan Schoenfeld, a public speaker & thought partner to families of wealth and their advisors, is an award-winning thought leader. Susan’s switch from successful estate planning attorney and CPA to a trusted family advisor and thought partner was inspired by families of wealth asking her searching questions beyond estate tax planning. As a conflict-free advisor who provides no investment, tax, or legal advice and sells no product, Susan shares her insights directly with wealthy families and with financial services experts. She is active as a keynote speaker and a leader of break-out sessions and workshops at conferences throughout the US.
Connect with Susan Schoenfeld on LinkedIn.
