The Most Important Strategies for Effective Succession Planning
No one can know the future. Yet it’s vital to ensure the family office – and the family – are positioned as strongly as possible, for continuity and effective long-term financial and business management. Succession planning is multifaceted and often emotional.
Succession planning is a continuous process
Family office executives must navigate succession within both the family office and the family. These two entities may approach similar issues differently – with differing objectives, priorities, “rules of engagement” and human dynamics.
The family office focuses on continuity and the effective management of the family’s financial and business interests – preparing leaders to manage investments, operations and governance. The family focuses on preserving harmony, living shared values, cementing a legacy and readying family members to steward shared assets.
Challenges differ, too: family offices may face lean staffing and a weak talent pipeline; families may face competing generational priorities, especially with elders who may not be ready to let go.
We think these six considerations – legal, structural and emotional – hold the keys to success:
1. Review financial and legal frameworks: Ensure estate plans are well-drafted and up-to-date; confirm fiduciary/advisory roles and successor mechanisms; review titling and valuations; revisit operating/shareholder/buy-sell agreements; and stress-test the “human element” – can the family live in the plan being created?
2. Embrace perpetual succession: Succession is a constant state – cyclical yet unpredictable, sometimes multigenerational. Plan across short-, medium- and long-term horizons for both family and office, and bring in support to establish a code of conduct and collective decision-making.
3. Set the stage for future leadership needs: Future leaders may need different skills than founders, including emotional intelligence. Build a competency matrix; seek leadership coaching; and consider new roles beyond executive (board, family council, committees, emeritus positions).
4. Identify and develop a cohort of future leaders: Address gaps in experience with education on finance, investing, philanthropy and stewardship. Look within and beyond the family, and fund a real development plan (potentially with a chief learning officer).
5. Manage stakeholders as you make concrete plans: Set a clear vision, be transparent on what will happen and when, and manage expectations. Create a timeline with milestones and a mentorship period.
6. Address sensitive issues with care: Use advisers to support difficult conversations – readiness, competence, promotions and elders transitioning – often best raised thoughtfully and early.
Rick Barragan is the Managing Director,
Los Angeles Market Manager, for
J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
[email protected] | (310) 860-3658
privatebank.jpmorgan.com/los-angeles
Source: “The most important strategies for effective succession planning” Elisa Shevlin Rizzo, head of family and family office advisory, Feb. 26, 2026
