Rehearsing a family office launch before the founder steps back

Built on Chapter 3 of How to Start a Family Office by Richard C. Wilson.

Before a founder steps back from the new family office, I would ask the team to demonstrate how it handles a few ordinary decisions and a significant disruption. A team chart can show who owns the work while a rehearsal reveals whether those people have the information and authority to perform it.

Chapter 3 recommends scenario planning to identify missing expertise and assign response responsibilities. The application here is a launch rehearsal using controlled exercises. Staff can discover a broken handoff before it affects an actual commitment.

Select situations that test the new arrangement

Choose situations tied to the family's real obligations. An approaching funding request can test the path from receipt to authorized payment. An unavailable senior employee can test whether coverage works.

Use a clearly identified exercise with suitable materials. Avoid creating a realistic-looking instruction that someone could mistake for a live transaction. The rehearsal should test the process without initiating an actual transfer or commitment.

Ask what each situation is intended to establish. The office might need to demonstrate access to source documents or the ability to obtain a required approval. Keep the objective narrow enough to assess.

Let the assigned staff explain the response

Ask the employee who would receive the request to walk through the next action. Have that person identify the record they would consult and the contact responsible for any approval.

Keep the founder from supplying every answer. If the team depends on information only the founder remembers, record that dependency. The office can then determine whether the information should be documented or remain a reserved decision.

Include outside providers where their participation is necessary and agreed. The office should understand a provider's actual service commitments before assuming that someone will be available on demand.

An employee may know where a document is stored and still lack permission to retrieve it. Demonstrate access through approved methods. Do not use the rehearsal as a reason to distribute credentials or broaden permissions unnecessarily.

Then establish whether the intended approver can act. Have counsel or the relevant professional address uncertain authority. A familiar signature process may not apply to every entity involved.

If the approval cannot be obtained, use the established escalation route. The exercise should reveal the limitation without encouraging employees to invent a workaround.

Follow the handoff through to completion

Continue beyond the first response. Ask who confirms the requested work was accepted and who checks that it finished. Many assignments fail after a message has been forwarded to someone assumed to be responsible.

Examine what the family receives at the end. The founder may need a concise confirmation, while the accountant needs supporting records. Define those outputs according to their actual use.

Check that the exercise leaves an understandable record. A successor should be able to see the decision and supporting evidence without asking everyone who attended the rehearsal.

Record the missing document or unresolved approval route. Give each issue to a person capable of resolving it and explain which office responsibility it affects.

Distinguish a training need from a design flaw. An employee may need instruction on an existing process. Alternatively, the process may require authority that nobody has. Those problems need different responses.

Retest the affected step after correction. There is little value in replaying every successful part of the exercise when only one access problem prevented completion.

Agree what the founder still retains

A rehearsal can show that certain decisions should continue to involve the founder. State those reserved decisions explicitly. Stepping back from routine coordination does not mean abandoning every substantive judgment.

Explain how staff will present a reserved decision and what information the founder can expect. The office should bring a prepared question instead of recreating the entire task in the founder's inbox.

Keep the rehearsal record proportionate. Keep the corrected handoff and clear responsibility available for the people performing the work. A description of the exercise is useful only if it helps them follow the accepted process.

Questions and answers

Should the exercise use live payment instructions? Use a controlled exercise that cannot be mistaken for a live instruction. Test through approved procedures.

Does every gap require another employee? No. Missing access or unclear authority can prevent capable staff from completing work. Correct the specific cause first.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Family governance documents and dispute processes should be reviewed by a qualified attorney.