Blog

Family Meetings

Ann Robbeloth
June 4, 2014

A family meeting can improve our ability to navigate changed circumstances.  Common changes that impact families in estate planning are the aging process, health issues, or death of a family member. Information may need to be provided, or decisions made. These are emotional times.  It is important to realize that there are legal implications at play as well as everyone’s personal feelings. There are two types of family meetings.  The first type is an informal meeting held at the home of a family member, and run by the person who is most comfortable taking on the role.  The second type is more formal, and is run by a professional.  The second type is best if the family has difficulty identifying or agreeing to a point person to lead the meeting, or if there are specific questions that everyone would like to have answered that are technical in nature and best answered by a professional.  Sometimes a combination of meetings over time works best, as circumstances continue to evolve, and questions are raised at an informal family meeting.