Advisor-Client Relationships

Resource Topics

In Tax We Trust: Implications of growing societal and client trends

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on WealthManagement.com on February 13, 2022 Most private wealth advisors (including trusts and estates lawyers, accountants and investment advisors) assume that a primary goal of their work is to reduce their clients’ taxes…

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COVID Conversations

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in WealthManagement.com April 2020 By now, unless you work in health care or an “essential business,” you’ve likely settled into “self-isolation” mode. Working at home, your family is now nearby—physically and/or on the…

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Founding Women of Family Wealth

Patricia Angus convened the Founding Women of Family Wealth for a series of panel discussions exploring the practitioner perspective, at Columbia Business School Global Family Enterprise Program. Below are links to: “What is wealth?” and “Competition vs. Collaboration”:

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Practice, Practice, Practice: Musings on being a “Practitioner”

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in FFI Practitioner, July 16, 2019 In this edition of FFI Practitioner, Patricia examines what it truly means to be a “Practitioner” and the impact of ongoing practice when working with family enterprise clients.

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Who’s in Charge?
A new model for understanding family business ownership

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, March 2019 Family businesses are complex in many ways. They’re inevitably a mix of entrepreneurial spirit, family connections, business challenges and evolutionary processes spanning multiple dimensions all at once. Any lawyer,…

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A Rose by Any Other Name:
Family firm terminology as a divider or unifier?

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in FFI Practitioner, July 31, 2018 In this edition of FFI, Patricia reflects on the complexities of defining some key terminology in the field.

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Weddings, Engagements and Prenups
Help clients address the “what ifs” before the “I dos.”

By Marvin Blum – Originally published on Trusts and Estates in February 2018. Tying the knot. Settling down. Getting hitched. Taking the plunge. Regardless of what you call it, getting married is one of life’s great events. For estate planners,…

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Are You Wealthy?

Wealth of Wisdom Podcast, Episode 21, 2018 In the first chapter of the book, Wealth of Wisdom (McCullough & Whitaler), Patricia Angus tells a fascinating story about a conversation she had with a cab driver about wealth and life and…

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A Bridge Too Far?

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on Wealth Management.com on March 7, 2017. How academia is essential to the future of family, business and society For too long, family business was not only off the radar of graduate schools…

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21st Century Trustees

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on FFI Practitioner on November 16, 2016. Business is all about the future. An entrepreneur takes an idea and makes it into a service or product that people will want even need, for…

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Are You “Wealthy”?
Questions for the Industry and Our Clients

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on WealthManagement.com June 2016 Recently, I took a taxi to the airport after leaving a conference focused on the challenges and opportunities of families with “great wealth” — that is, families with extraordinary…

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After the Plan: Guiding Personal Trustees

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on Wealth Management.com in May 2016. Many years ago, when I was a young lawyer, a new client, “Tom,” entered our offices. He was quite concerned—his friend, “Sam,” had appointed him as trustee…

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Eureka! Was 2015 the year family business was “discovered?”

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, January 25 2016 Looking back some day, 2015 might be known as the year that family business was “discovered,” at least by a group far larger than those specializing in…

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Mindfulness in Advisor-Client Relationships

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on WealthManagement.com on May 27, 2015 By slowing down and looking inward, a financial advisor who’s having difficulty with a client might better understand what’s really happening. “Mindfulness” is a movement on the…

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Beyond the Traditional Estate Planning ‘Choices’: Expanding the Options

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on Wealth Management.com in March 2015. Estate planners often advise clients that there are only three places where you can leave your assets at death: family, taxes and charity. It became popular to…

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Changing Lenses: How perspective affects family wealth advising 

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, January 29, 2015 As an amateur photography student, I’ve spent many hours learning about techniques and tools to improve my skills in taking, making and presenting photographs. As I’ve been…

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Donor Networking

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, 2015 New philanthropists often are baffled by challenges after their foundation is established or donations are made. Here’s how to help them help themselves. Charitable giving through private foundations, trusts…

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Planning Trust Administration to Avoid Conflict

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in WealthManagement.com in December 2014 In wealth management, the trust is the most common structure used to realize our widely recognized and accepted freedom of disposition. Within broad parameters, the law of trusts…

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Attending to a Client’s True Needs: Lessons learned in unexpected places

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on WealthManagement.com on July 29, 2014 I recently found myself in need of medical help for an unexplained injury. Once again, I found myself learning some lessons that can easily – if not…

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Got Love? Getting to the “heart” of it

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on Wealth Management.com in February 2014. Valentine’s Day is always a bright spot in the midst of a sometimes (especially this year on the East Coast) long, cold winter. Long enough into the…

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New Year’s Resolutions: Goals for 2014 to improve client/advisor relationships

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, December 2013 As another year ends and a new one begins, it’s hard not to…

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Friend or Foe?
Think twice before becoming your client’s BFF

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, September 2013 If you choose to work as a professional in trusts and estates or…

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Which Gen?
Questioning the Labeling Trend

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, May 2013 The private wealth management industry has recently directed its focus to the “Next…

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Trust and Miracles: A simple test as useful groundwork for establishing a long-term relationship

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, May 2013 The word “trust” is used all the time in the private wealth management…

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The Perfect Storm?

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, March 2013 It’s brewing on the estate-planning horizon, and clients and their advisors may be…

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May I Help You?
How perspective matters in client-advisor relationships

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on WealthManagement.com on February 28, 2013 Some time ago, I was describing a particular client dilemma to a…

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Now What?: The hard work has only just begun.

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, January 2013 The collective sigh among lawyers, accountants and investment advisors across the United States…

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Family Meetings Come of Age: How to create an effective forum for all generations

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on WealthManagement.com, 2013 As older members of the Baby Boom generation were reaching adulthood, I spent many an…

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Island Hopping: An archipelago can be a model for healthy relationships.

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, December 2012 Last month, I had the opportunity to walk through a city that’s connected…

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New and Improved: Do we run the risk of discontinuing advice and services that are quite good?

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, November 2012 Lately, it seems everywhere I turn, things are “new and improved.” Perfectly good…

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(Re-)Building Bridges: Reflections on All Hallows’ Eve 2012: Lessons learned from our response to crisis

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, November 2012 I’m writing this “Building Bridges” column on Oct. 31, 2012, “All Hallows’ Eve,”…

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Client Engagement: How to improve participation to achieve better results

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, September 2012 For more than a decade, lawyers in New York State have been required…

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A View of the Bridge: An enduring Italian landmark offers up lessons for private wealth advisors

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, August 2012 While on vacation recently in Florence, Italy, I took a stroll across the…

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Being “Good With Clients”
Four common assumptions to avoid

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, July 2012 As an aspiring lawyer interviewing for an associate position at one of the…

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Know Your Client?

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Private Wealth Management in 2011 It is hard to discuss private wealth management, espe­cially in the international context,…

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A Road Map: Choosing Advisors To Help Your Family With Governance and Family Dynamics

By Jane N. Abitanta, Patricia M. Angus, and Fredda Herz Brown – December 7, 2006 General Tips for Your Selection Process 1.  Consider this a…

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