Family Enterprise Advice - It’s about more than money

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It's About more than Money

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Mark and Lisa Lawson had built something substantial. From a single truck in regional Victoria, the family had grown their logistics business into a thriving operation. Alongside the business sat investment properties, superannuation, and a share portfolio managed by an adviser. In all, it wasn’t the sort of wealth that makes headlines, but it was enough to bring with it a new level of complexity.

For a long time, the Lawsons assumed that complexity could be handled by the professionals they already had around them. The accountant kept the books clean. The financial planner advised on markets and super. The lawyer prepared wills and updated trust deeds when asked. Each of these roles mattered, but each was confined to its own lane. No one was charged with holding the whole picture together. When they came together in a meeting, each adviser seemed to believe they should take the lead. What should have been collaborative discussions often slipped into dysfunctional gatherings. In the absence of clear coordination, the responsibility to hold everything together was left to the family, and it began to fray.

Meanwhile, Mark & Lisa's children had grown into different lives. Claire, the eldest, had been working in the business since finishing university. She knew the staff, carried the client relationships, and was already seen as the natural successor by many around her. Daniel had chosen a different path. He had a career outside the family enterprise and had no wish to return, though he often voiced his opinions about where the money should be invested.

Sophie, still studying, stood further back. She did not yet have a role, but she watched the strain that money and expectations placed on her family.

Family conversations became circular. At dinners and holidays, business matters would creep in, and so would the disagreements. Decisions about the future of the company, the division of assets, and the fairness of any eventual inheritance rarely reached resolution. The Lawsons began to sense that if they did not find a better way to talk, the wealth they had built could one day drive them apart.

It was at this point that a Family Enterprise Adviser entered their lives. The role was not to take over the business, nor to replace the accountant, planner, or lawyer. It was to provide a space where the threads could be drawn together and the family could see their situation as a whole.

The changes were subtle at first. Regular family meetings were established as opposed to their social gatherings, with an agenda that gave each voice time to be heard. What had once been arguments at the kitchen table became conversations with structure. Over time, decisions began to stick rather than being revisited again and again.

A family charter was drafted. It was not a legal contract but a statement of how the Lawsons intended to manage their affairs together. It drew a line between what counted as family assets and what was personal. It set out how decisions would be made, and when professional advice would be sought. For the first time, there was a written record of principles that had previously been implied but never agreed.

Responsibilities shifted in ways that relieved pressure. Claire was no longer seen as the only child carrying the weight of the business. While she remained the likely successor, her siblings were given roles that matched their interests. Daniel began to oversee the family’s investments, a task that suited his skills without forcing him back into a business he did not love. Sophie was encouraged to attend meetings as a learner, with no expectation other than to understand the decisions being made. These changes steadied the family dynamic and gave each person a clearer place within it.

Attention turned outward as well. The Lawsons had long supported local charities, but their giving had been irregular and often reactive. With guidance, they created a small family foundation. Each child had the chance to nominate causes they cared about. For Claire it was mentoring young women in business, for Daniel it was local sport, and for Sophie it was climate projects. The act of pooling their giving gave them a common project beyond the family balance sheet.

The Adviser’s presence did not eliminate tension. Disagreements remained, and there were moments when old frustrations resurfaced. But there was now a way to address them before they hardened into conflict. The family began to see that their wealth was not only about numbers on a page. It was about relationships, identity, and the way each generation understood its role.

For the Lawsons, their family’s wealth was more than money. It was all about the business they had built, the opportunities they wanted their children to have, and the legacy they hoped to leave. Now, with a clearer structure and the right conversations, they were better placed to protect all of it- both the assets and the bonds that tied them together.