Succession planning helps transmit a family’s values, culture, and vision to the next generation, ensuring smooth transitions when key family members pass. It also helps reduce uncertainty and potential conflict, protects family wealth, and reassures all stakeholders that their interests have been considered.

A well-executed succession plan allows for a gradual and planned handover of responsibilities, and provides successive generations with the time and planning they require to enact a smooth and successful transition. We provide some tips to help get your succession plans on track.

1. Make a start

A strong succession plan agreed to by all family members helps to avoid a situation where a founding wealth creator of the family dies, leaving remaining family members with no clear plan for what happens next.

2. Place all the cards on the table

Substantial family wealth is often the result of a founder displaying significant entrepreneurial skills, but that does not automatically mean other family members share those traits. You need to ask:

• Is there a clear path to transition a family business to successors and are there the skill sets and ambitions amongst family members to grow the business?
• How much wealth is required to back the business, and what issues does this raise with family members with ambitions in other pathways?
• How do family members that support the business, and those that have different ambitions, maintain a balanced voice in wealth decisions?
• How does the family create clear long term pathways to manage generational wealth, and what happens additional members join the family, such as spouses?

3. You’re not alone

When a family starts talking about the purpose of wealth it creates the guardrails around how the family will interact with that wealth and a shared vision of the future. It is also a period where early tensions may arise. An independent facilitator can create the right settings to draw out the thoughts of family members and depersonalise potential areas of conflict. It may take many sessions between periods of individual reflection to work through the long term aspirations of the family, but that’s okay. It’s about getting it done right, not quickly.

4. It’s not set and forget

Like any business, ongoing responsibilities will be shared amongst the stakeholders, creating pathways of accountability and governance that will need to be reviewed and adjusted over time to continue to meet the evolving needs of the family.

5. Not all things are equal

Depending on responsibilities, age, ambitions and evolving pathways of a family tree, distribution and access to wealth may not always be equal. Document your reasons, methodologies, timelines, and outcomes on how you reached distribution agreements and shared wealth goals.

6. Invest in the family’s future

Those family members or trusted advisors in key positions of family wealth management and succession planning may require ongoing learning to maintain and adjust structures and governance, put in place to manage family wealth. We have witnessed a number of changes in how family wealth may be directed in recent years, including the rising legitimacy of cryptocurrency, expanded access to private capital markets, and of course the evolution of artificial intelligence. While investments in such areas may represent only a small portion of family wealth, those in the decision making process may require additional support to make informed decisions.

7. Diversity matters

Families will decide on the decision makers, but it’s important to ensure there is an open and agreed process for passing on responsibilities as new generations evolve to replace those ready to pass the baton.

8. Don’t stop communicating

Family wealth is an important legacy for all involved, and over time strategic aspirations set years or perhaps decades ago will change and evolve. Regular gatherings to discuss family goals will help to ensure members ‘stay on the same page’, and that any divergences can be captured and discussed before they become divisive issues.

Important information

The information contained in this article is believed to be reliable as at June 2025 and is intended to be of a general nature only. It has been prepared without taking into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, NAB recommends that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances. NAB recommends that you seek independent legal, property, financial and taxation advice before acting on any information in this article.

©2025 NAB Private Wealth is a division of National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 044 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686.