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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 items…

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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,” an appropriate holiday for this week of devastation…

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What is a family council and when should a family consider establishing one?

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published by National Center for Family Philanthropy, October 15, 2012 Many families with multiple branches may elect to set up a Family Council. While the particular roles and responsibilities of Family Councils vary across…

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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 to have an “engagement” letter signed by…

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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 Ponte Vecchio–the aptly named…

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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 top law firms in 1991, I received some interesting feedback.…

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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, without using the term “KYC’; the acronym for Know Your Client. Since 9/11, and for…

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Family Governance Meets Family Dynamics: a Survey and Strategies for Successful Joint Philanthropy

By Patricia M. Angus and Fredda Herz Brown, Ph.D. – Originally published on NCFP Passages in 2007. The Smith family* had been running their foundation for about four years when it hit a roadblock. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in their…

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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 learning experience having a number of firms and/or individuals to choose from will help your…

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The Family Governance Pyramid: From Principles to Practice

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Journal of Wealth Management in 2005 Virtually every family of significant wealth lives within a family gover­nance system, yet few know that this is the case and even fewer know how to…

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Sharing the Family Vacation Home

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in WealthManagement.com July 2015 Five tips for making frolicking more likely than fighting. Ahh, summer. A time to get away to the family vacation home, kick back, bask in the sun and gather…

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Family Governance: A Primer for Philanthropic Families

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on NCFP Passages in 2004. Families who engage in philanthropy together have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on the world and to share an experience that can enrich their lives…

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Ten Facts Every Trust Beneficiary Should Know

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Private Wealth Management in 2003. After years of working with families to establish trusts, and with individual trust beneficiaries, it has become clear to me that there is a need for better…

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Who We Remember: Every Life Has a Story

“Whose life story from your own family would you most want to have documented on film?” In this moving episode of Who We Remember, host Jamie…

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Themes for Family Businesses in 2023

Uncertainty and digitalization are among the challenges. By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, December 2022 Will 2023 be the year that…

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From Textiles to Multi-generational Wealth: The Shah Family Enterprise

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published on Columbia CaseWorks, Spring 2024 What are the factors that drove a family-owned chemical company’s success, and how…

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Trust Ownership of Family Businesses:
Planning for the Future

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, February 2024 The scenario is all too common. The founders (or non-founding owners) of a…

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Everything Everywhere All at Once?
Family Enterprises in 2024

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, January 2024 The  2023  Academy Awards ceremony was quite a sweep for the film Everything…

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Audiobook – The Beneficiary Primer: A Guide for Beneficiaries of Family Trusts

Have you been named as beneficiary of a family trust? Does it feel overwhelming? Are you looking for some practical information to get up to…

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Wealth Transfer Between Generations, Primer for Trustees and Beneficiaries

In this episode of the podcast Talking Billions, Patricia talks with Bogumil Baranowski of Sicart Associates, LLC. Together they explore:Trusts: what they are, where they…

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Complex Family Enterprise: A new way to describe a growing phenomenon

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, March 2023 Trusts and estates practitioners (for example, lawyers, accountants and investment advisors) take their…

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Review of Reviews: “How Should Inheritance Law Remediate Inequality?” 97 Wash. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2022)

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in Trusts & Estates, November 2022 Inequality—or rather, disparity—of wealth is perhaps the most complex and vexing issue of…

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Your Family Business Needs a Board

By Patricia M. Angus, published in Harvard Business Review, September 08, 2022 A board should be at the helm of any family business, steering the business…

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Mental Health and Estate Planning

Patricia joins Arden O’Connor of the Beyond the Balance Sheet podcast in a discussion about estate planning with mental health and addiction issues in mind….

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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…

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Virtual Fireside Chat with Leading Family Enterprise and Family Office Experts

The role of family offices in structuring and advising families with regards to liquidity events and family dynamics. Strategies for families to intelligently run and manage the risks associated with private wealth and operating businesses concurrently…

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The Family Governance Pyramid: Enhancing and Guiding Your Family Philanthropy

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published in NCFP’s Passages July 2021 OVERVIEW Family philanthropy is a very important expression of a family’s commitment to…

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Sustainable Growth Drivers for Family Enterprises

This webinar draws from the experiences of different stakeholders, explores how family businesses in Africa have evolved, the challenges faced, and the main drivers behind…

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The Purpose and Power of Family Governance

By Patricia M. Angus – Originally published as a blogpost for NCFP, June, 2021Excerpt from “Passages Issue Brief: Enhancing Your Family Philanthropy with The Family Governance…

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How Should Wealthy Parents Treat Wayward Offspring?

by Emma Jacobs – Originally published in Financial Times on May 26, 2021Giving children too much money, too early, risks indulging them and making them…

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Tamarind Learning Podcast: The Beneficiary Primer

In this podcast, Patricia Angus, Managing Director of the Global Family Enterprising Program and Faculty Director of the Enterprising Family Executive Program at Columbia University…

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Primer on Family Trust Beneficiaries:
Things to Consider

In this episode of FFI Practitioner‘s weekly podcast, FFI Fellow Patricia Angus discusses her most recent book, The Beneficiary Primer: A Guide for Beneficiaries of Family…

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The Trustee Primer: A Guide for Personal Trustees

Tamarind Learning Podcast: The Trustee Primer

In this podcast, Patricia Angus, Managing Director of the Global Family Enterprising Program and Faculty Director of the Enterprising Family Executive Program at Columbia University discusses her book, The Trustee Primer, with Kirby Rosplock, PhD, Founder and CEO of Tamarind Partners.

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