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Family Businesses Can Be Vulnerable Too

The importance of family-owned businesses in terms of the economy is pretty amazing. A full 68 percent of businesses are in private hands. Many of those family businesses however, don't have a succession plan in place, even when there are millions of dollars at stake. A new study, "Protecting the Family Fortune" sponsored by U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management finds that the majority of owners of ultra-high-net-worth family businesses haven't fully prepared for the future when it comes to business succession, asset protection and estate planning.

The ultra-high-net-worth businesses surveyed in the report have interests valued at a minimum of $300 million and had already successfully transitioned from the first to at least the second generation. The majority of these family businesses have wealth transfer plans in place and yet most of these plans have lapsed. A majority (89%) of these wealthy business owners were "very" or "extremely concerned" about protecting the family's wealth but nearly three quarters (73%) of them do not have asset protection plans in place.

Most of the business owners are also very worried about personal security, believing that their level of wealth makes them a target. The survey also found that while most had many stresses which affect their personal and professional lives, overall 64% of the affluent family business owners are personally very happy with their lives. The study did find that those who consider themselves "highly centered" are overall in a much better place in life and the report found that one of the best ways to protect the family fortune is actually to manage stress in a positive way.

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Tags: family, fortune, money, us trust, UsTrust, wealth