Trusts and Estates
Ca. Trs. & Estates Quarterly Volume 10, Issue 1, Spring 2004
Content
- Drafting Readable Petitions For Court Review
- Litigation Alert
- New Domestic Partnership Legislation and Its Impact On Estate Planning and Administration
- Trust and Estates Section Executive Committee
- SELECTED FEDERAL TAX LEGISLATION, CASES & RULINGS
- FROM ROLES TO RULES©: A NEW MODEL FOR MANAGING FAMILY DYNAMICS IN THE ESTATE PLANNING PROCESS
FROM ROLES TO RULES©:†A NEW MODEL FOR MANAGING FAMILY DYNAMICS IN THE ESTATE PLANNING PROCESS
By John W. Ambrecht, Esq.*
Howard Berens, M.D.**
Richard Goldwater, M.D.***
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Family Dynamics and Estate Planning
Estate planning for families who own businesses and other significant assets often presents difficulties rooted in the family’s internal dynamics and psychological issues, which few attorneys are prepared to address. Even when such difficulties cannot be avoided, most attorneys focus exclusively on the financial and legal aspects of the estate plan. Unfortunately, this limited focus can permit family dynamics to distort or abort the planning process, or to generate an estate plan that is later contested in court.