Celebrating 10 Years! — Susan Schoenfeld
Susan R. Schoenfeld, CEO and Founder of Wealth Legacy Advisors LLC serves as a ‘thought partner’ to families of wealth through personal attention and human spirit. Susan is an award-winning Thought Leader; she provides guidance on legacy, next-generation, stewardship, governance, leadership succession, and philanthropy.
On July 1, 2023, we will celebrate a major milestone — 10 years since Wealth Legacy Advisors was founded!
I couldn’t be more proud of, and more grateful for, the trust and confidence that my clients have placed in me these 10 years, and I look forward to continuing to serve you for many more years to come.
What keeps you up at night? Ten years ago I had a big idea — that what keeps families of wealth up at night is not their investments, taxes or estate plans, but rather raising their families in an atmosphere of wealth to become competent and confident stewards of their wealth.
What is in a name? Our name Wealth Legacy Advisors was chosen carefully to convey that we advise on the legacy of wealth, not the financial or investment management of that wealth. We are thought partners to UHNW families about the human issues of wealth: their legacy, stewardship and governance. We do not provide any investment advice, legal advice or tax advice, and do not sell insurance or any other product.
The families who have invited me into their worlds these past 10 years are each fascinatingly unique but, upon reflection, do tend to fall into two distinct patterns. First are the families experiencing some pressing business transaction or transition, perhaps in an operating family business or in the “business of the family” — the family’s ongoing investments, or even the family’s philanthropic vehicle.
These families brought me into their system because they trusted that my deep background in law and business advising UHNW families for my entire career would enable me to understand — and not inadvertently disturb — the complex and technical planning, agreements and transactions already in place.
Second are the families NOT experiencing an immediate business crisis, who want to get ahead of the curve by engaging in governance planning to set up the next generation for success, and creating structures for better communication and decision-making before the inevitable issues arise.
I’ve been engaged by family offices and by trustees of family trusts to foster responsibility and common bonds among beneficiaries, and by parents and grandparents to facilitate family meetings and engage in mission, vision and values exercises which might result in family constitutions and the like.
With my People-First approach, I helped UHNW families like yours navigate the complex issues at hand, while acknowledging that the true source of tension may well be at the intersection of financial matters with the family dynamics iceberg lying deeper below the surface.
I am passionate about the work that I do with families of wealth. The so-called “soft issues” of wealth are the hardest of all, and I look forward to my next 10 years of guiding families through the land mines … and having fun while doing so!
Susan Schoenfeld, a public speaker & thought partner to families of wealth and their advisors, is an award-winning thought leader. Susan’s switch from successful estate planning attorney and CPA to a trusted family advisor and thought-partner was inspired by families of wealth asking her searching questions beyond estate tax planning. As a conflict-free advisor who provides no investment, tax, or legal advice and sells no product, Susan shares her insights directly with wealthy families and with financial services experts. She is active as a keynote speaker and a leader of break-out sessions and workshops at conferences throughout the US.
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