Estate & Legacy Planning
How Do You Rate as “Family CFO”?
Lessons Learned Creating an Estate Designed to Last Generations
It’s being called “The Great Wealth Transfer.”
If this story caught your attention, you’re probably playing a role – either as a “giver” or a “receiver” of the biggest generational asset handover in human history…
Starting right now – and running for the next decade or more – $84 TRILLION will be transferred from Baby Boomers to their heirs and charity groups around the world.1
We’re talking about cash, real estate, stocks and bonds, personal property, and even shares of family businesses.
It’s a mind-numbing figure that’s almost too massive to grasp. That’s more than one year of output from the 10 largest global economies all added together.2 And more than half of this transfer will be concentrated here in America.
Gen X and Millennials will be the primary beneficiaries, receiving $57 trillion of that total.
I know all about this – in fact, I understand it intimately – because it’s what I focus on every day.
For over 40 years, I’ve helped families with “multi-generational wealth planning,” which is a ponderous way of saying: “We try to help you and your family build wealth… keep it and use it during your lifetime… and pass it along for enjoyment and security for generations to come.” That’s our mission: Give families the tools and knowledge to help make that happen.
Whether it’s $500,000… or $5 million… and whether your grandparents built it… or you did… our goal is to help you avoid the mistakes that can erode your wealth – or eradicate it completely.
And we try to do that in quite a different way…
The Role of a Personal CFO
In a company, the CFO plays a critical role, ensuring the company stewards its capital wisely and makes the most of its hard-won earnings.
That can include anything from collecting receivables more effectively to minimizing taxation, to asset protection via insurance and liability isolation, and much, much more.
They don’t just invest cash; they coordinate many moving parts to earn more and keep it.
It’s long been my aim to have our clients come to see and trust us as the equivalent for their personal life, as a “Family CFO,” since I set out on this journey.
We view wealth planning and generational inheritance through a very personal lens, catalyzed when I lost contact with my own sister over an easily avoidable family money dispute decades ago.
That’s part of what we believe makes us different.
But our work goes beyond just money.
We also care about your legacy.
In fact, at the very start of our work together, we’ll be sure to ask: “Your family will inherit your wealth… but what about your values?” It’s just one of the ten tough questions we ask any prospective client.
We help you plan for today… and we work to educate your heirs to ready them for tomorrow. We try to prepare them to handle the responsibility that accompanies such inheritances.
On a typical day, our office buzzes with folks calling in because they’re worried that they are not prepared to pass along their legacy when the time comes.
And that’s where I believe we shine.
The process starts with my own son, long-time business partner, and licensed attorney, Michael. He and his team pore over your and your business’s (if you have one) tax returns, financial statements, and investment holdings. They take stock of the entire personal financial world you’ve created and look to refine and upgrade it for you.
Our work is so detailed that we sometimes create 100-page documents with entire game plans laying out what we believe you should focus on – things like asset building, risk management, tax minimization, and estate planning.
We put this much energy into our work for an important reason: In our experience, money is highly personal, and we believe that a great financial adviser should be a trusted family confidante. We aim to earn our place as the confidante for our clients.
But it’s not just the level of detail that we feel makes us different; we view our clients’ estates through that special lens.
We take an in-depth look at your wealth… and your purpose.
Our Goal: Making Your Legacy Last… and Last
Through my four decades in this business, I’ve learned that the transfer of values – not money – remains one of the single most overlooked aspects of estate planning. It’s not just growing wealth that’s important. We understand that preserving your legacy – so your family doesn’t become another tragic tale of “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” – is just as crucial to many clients.
There is an old maxim: “Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” The first generation creates the assets; the second generation spends them; and the third generation squanders what’s left.
We’ve found, like many cliches, it’s quite grounded in reality…
It’s what often happens when money is bequeathed, but the values that created it don’t make that next-generation trip, too.
It’s sometimes hard for kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, and the generations that follow to appreciate the truly great gift they’ve been given. If you don’t pass along your story, that makes it easier for these future generations to squander what they inherited.
A story like:
- How you founded a company, built a successful career, turned a rental property into a valuable real estate portfolio… and built your wealth.
- The struggles you endured, the hurdles you overcame, and the lessons you learned along the way.
- And how you want everyone – from your kids to great-grandkids and even their kids – to run your business or steward the assets you’re passing on.
That’s why, to pass down those values, we help many of our clients create family mission statements and a “Legacy Video” to build a 100-year connection between generations.
In fact, one of our clients, a couple in their 90s, took this lesson so seriously that they hired a Hollywood film company to produce their video.
The last scene showed them riding a horse into the sunset, accompanied by Celine Dion’s hit “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic. Cheesy as it may sound at first, I looked around as the video ended, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Most importantly, the husband and his wife got their “audience” (their heirs) to really understand what mattered to them:
Their values.
Just as shrewd, he structured his “production” so that any beneficiary of his trust must watch the video before accepting any assets.
This strategy is an emotionally impactful way of educating future generations.
It’s not right for everyone. I often say, only half-joking, “If you hate your kids, you’re not the right client for us.” But it might surprise you how often I run into prospects who fit that bill – business I am happy to turn away.
However, if you are looking to ensure you maximize both the financial and personal impact you can leave behind, I believe we can help you get closer to those goals…
Lean on Our Experience
When we present our planning process at industry conferences, we are often met with incredulity: “Where do you find the time for such in-depth planning?”
We make the time, because time and again we find it well worth the upfront investment, for our clients and for the relationships we build with them.
Unfortunately, when we dig into the plans of our potential clients at the beginning, it is not unusual to find evidence that picture growth opportunities and important keys to asset protection, like passing down values, may have been missed or not fully addressed.
Don’t get me wrong. Your accounts, your attorneys, and your advisers are probably great at their jobs. I know MANY. We rely on them to do what we do.
Most are doing exactly what you asked them to: calculate and file your taxes, write you a will, create a trust, earn a solid return.
These are the kinds of questions professionals often face: Should a tax accountant ever discuss life insurance as a tool for retirement tax planning?* Might an attorney consider how an annuity fits within a grantor trust structure? Would a broker even be aware of a client’s trust setup? These scenarios highlight the importance of coordinated financial planning, but they are not recommendations.
These kinds of opportunities, and potential costly mistakes, cross traditional silos. They require a broad understanding of a client’s financial world.
We take that proverbial step back, embrace an elevated view, and see the big picture – a lot like what a Chief Financial Officer for a major corporation is expected to do.
I understand the many pieces at play here: Asset protection, tax efficiency, family governance, risk mitigation, and the passing down of values.
Like any CFO, I work diligently trying to make those pieces fit together. Our entire team is committed to helping families navigate the complexities of generational wealth management, with the goal of helping families like yours maintain prosperity for generations.
The biggest wealth transfer in American history, maybe the world’s, is happening right now.3 Are you and your heirs prepared? At my firm, we do more than manage your money and build your assets. We strive to help you build a plan and a structure that can withstand for generations.
For many successful people, we find that mantle falls squarely on their shoulders. If that’s you, I encourage you to do a little soul searching and ask yourself: How do you stack up as Family CFO? Or should you hire someone for that job?
John J. Parise
Founder & Managing Partner of Copper Beech Financial Group
Your Generational Wealth Partner
John J. Parise is a seasoned investment adviser who has helped families optimize their investments for taxes and developed cross-generational plans to preserve wealth for nearly 40 years. His firm, Copper Beech Financial Group (CRD #313156), is a proud member of the WorthNet partner adviser network. If you’d like to speak to John and his team about whether they can put some of these tools and techniques to use for you and your family, click here to schedule a complimentary consultation.
Ready to Connect with Copper Beech Financial Group?
Let’s Get Started.
Last Revised: July 2, 2025
Sources
- The New York Times, “The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Is Here, With Familiar (Rich) Winners,” May 14, 2023 ↩︎
- https://www.forbesindia.com/article/explainers/top-10-largest-economies-in-the-world/86159/1 ↩︎
- The New York Times, “The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Is Here, With Familiar (Rich) Winners,” May 14, 2023 ↩︎
Copper Beech Disclosures: Securities offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Copper Beech Financial Group, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Osaic Wealth is separately owned, and other entities and/or marketing names, products, or services referenced here are independent of Osaic Wealth.