Tom Handler on Structuring Wealth Across Generations
Fireside chat.
Richard C. Wilson interviews Tom about advising wealthy families. Tom explains how he built his advisory practice and shares his views on serving clients, organizing family office work, preparing the next generation and handling major business transactions.
In this video: Tom (Advisor in trust, estate and taxation work), Richard C. Wilson (Fireside chat host)
What they said
- Tom on career positioning. Tom recalls a professor's advice to begin by targeting the people and level of work he wanted. He says moving up after starting low in a market can be difficult. (at 1:51)
- Tom on deal work and visibility. Tom says writing tax opinions tied to deals put his practice on the map. He said his name appeared on all 90 pages of the opinion, giving him visibility with deal participants. (at 4:08)
- Tom on quantitative analysis. Tom says the higher the family's income and estate, the more important quantitative analysis becomes. He described using after tax internal rates of return and Monte Carlo simulations when comparing alternatives. (at 9:29)
- Tom on annual structure reviews. Tom says family office and wealth structures require time and attention from the client as well as the advisors. He says they should be reviewed and adjusted annually as laws change. (at 14:06)
- Tom on family members joining the business. Tom's rule for family members who may join the business is three years somewhere else first. He described exposing children to the business before they build experience elsewhere. (at 20:34)
In their words
"I couldn't afford the caliber of office that I wanted for the client base."
"You make your own choices. You saw your mom and I, we killed ourselves. That's how we got here."
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
One company had independent public CPA audits, a compensated outside board and complete documents from day one. Reviewers called it better run than most public companies, and it received a premium on the purchase price.
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Anu Aga: Focus on one main cause. Her family found its giving more satisfying and impactful once it chose primary education for the underprivileged in India.
- Binod K. Chaudhary: Never chase a deal out of desperation. Stay cool and look at every part of the deal. Have your advisers and your finance team review it critically. Your counsel should review it too.
- Larry Connor: Learn from every mistake. Larry's team owns its failures and makes no excuses. They learn, change quickly, and keep getting better.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
What startup structure did Tom describe for a family office?
Tom said a family office may start as an LLC partnership to pass through startup expenses. He said the first 3 years are when the office spends all the money.
What did Tom say business owners should do before going to market?
Tom said to bring in someone who knows what they are doing to clean up the company before going to market. He said buyers do not want to spend the first year cleaning it up.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.