By: Dr. Tamara Patzer
In brief: Wealth that arrives without preparation is often lost within a generation. A New Orleans tax attorney argues that families should treat succession as an apprenticeship, with defined stages and a coordinating structure as the classroom. The feature draws on his book, Georgia’s estimated $714,243 top 1% line and current national data on generational transfers.
A founder in the Atlanta area builds a company over thirty years, and then hands the keys to a child with a hug and a will. The child may be brilliant, willing and kind. The child has also never seen the entity papers, met the advisers or sat in a meeting where a hard decision was made. Georgia readers may know New Orleans attorney Todd M. Villarrubia, a tax and estate specialist, from his book Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™, in which he argues that succession is a process, not an event. This article turns his argument into stages.
How large is the generational shift?
Very large. According to Cerulli Associates, about $124 trillion will pass from one U.S. generation to the next through 2048: $105 trillion to heirs and $18 trillion to charity. A good share of that will pass through family businesses whose founders have yet to decide how their successors will learn.
Georgia’s own markers are worth noting. SmartAsset estimates for 2026 that a Georgia filer needs $714,243 of income to be among the top 1%, a figure projected from IRS data and not a household count. An heir who steps into a successful company may find that the household’s income has crossed lines the heir has never had to think about.
What does the book say about wisdom and wealth?
That the two should travel together. Villarrubia writes, “Protect the wealth and the wisdom, because if you don’t pass on the wisdom, the wealth won’t last.” An heir who inherits shares without understanding why the company is run as it is has received half of the estate.
He also treats the outcome as something to be designed. “You’re no longer reacting to risk; instead, you’re engineering your legacy.” The idea of engineering suggests that the process can be built on purpose, with stages.
What is stage one: observation?
The heir watches. Between the ages when this makes sense, which varies by family, the heir attends select meetings as a listener. They see how the founder talks with the lawyer and the accountant. They learn the names of the entities and where the documents are kept. They are not asked to decide anything.
The founder’s job at this stage is to explain. After each meeting, spend ten minutes saying why the advisers said what they did. The aim is to turn events into lessons.
What is stage two: participation?
The heir takes responsibility for a defined piece. It might be the family’s calendar, the annual update to the one-page map or the preparation of a meeting. The task is small and real, and the heir answers to the founder and an adviser.
This is the point at which a coordinating structure helps. A family office, or a lead adviser acting as one, can give the heir a place to learn. The book notes that the best ones see their purpose as larger than the portfolio: “The most successful family offices recognize that they’re not merely managing assets but stewarding family ecosystems.”
What is stage three: shared decisions?
The heir joins the founder in decisions, with a vote that counts. Not every decision, and not forever, but a growing share. The family agrees in advance which choices need both, which can be made by the heir alone and which stay with the founder.
Mistakes will happen. The agreement should say how they will be handled and how they will be discussed. The aim is not to avoid error but to make it affordable.
What is stage four: the handoff?
By now the handoff is a formality. The heir has run part of the system for years, the advisers know them and the founder knows how they think. The documents can be updated to reflect what has already happened in practice.
Legal and tax documents are part of this stage, and the family’s attorney should explain which ones apply. What matters here is that the heir understands how the family’s documents work and who to call.
Does the heir have to want the job?
No, and the plan should allow for that. Some children will prefer other careers. Some will want ownership but not management. The apprenticeship is useful even when the heir does not take over, because it teaches the heir to be an informed owner, which any family needs.
Statistics on household wealth show why preparation matters at every level. The Federal Reserve’s newest family survey, released October 9, 2026, reports a 2025 median family net worth of $215,900 and a mean of $1.24 million. The families that hold the larger share have more to manage and, often, more to lose from a poor handoff.
What can a Georgia family do this year?
- Choose one meeting this year to which the heir will listen.
- Assign the heir one small recurring task.
- Write down, in a page, what the founder wants the heir to learn.
- Ask the advisers to explain their work to the heir once.
None of these requires a family office. All of them make one more useful later.
What goes wrong in practice?
Founders delay because they do not want to retire. Heirs delay because they fear the comparison. Advisers delay because nobody asked. A family that names these patterns aloud has already started to move past them.
What does the first small task teach?
An heir who updates the one-page map for a year learns more than one who attends ten lectures. The task forces questions: what is this entity for, who signed this, why is this account still open? Each answer from the founder or an adviser is a lesson in how the family thinks. Keep the first assignment modest and visible, and thank the heir publicly when it is done well. Recognition matters, since heirs who feel useful stay engaged, and engaged heirs ask for more responsibility on their own.
Common questions
At what age should an heir begin? Families differ. Some begin in the teens, with modest roles, and others begin later.
What if there are several heirs? Offer each a stage that fits. An attorney can help set up fair rules for ownership and control.
Can an apprenticeship replace estate documents? No. It complements them.
Sources
- SmartAsset, Income Needed to Be in the Top 1% in Every State (2026)
- NAPA-Net, Wealth Transfers Expected to Hit $124 Trillion Through 2048 (reporting Cerulli)
- Federal Reserve Board, press release on the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances
About the author. Dr. Tamara Patzer is a publisher and former newspaper editor. She was on the staff of The Charlotte Sun when it was named a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its Hurricane Charley coverage.
About the source. Todd M. Villarrubia is an attorney with an LL.M. in Taxation and a Juris Doctorate. He is an Accredited Estate Planner, a Board Certified Expert in Estate Planning and Administration, and a Fiduciary Investment Advisor Representative. He is the author of Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™. Wealth Planning Law Group, 101 W. Robert E. Lee Blvd., Ste 404, New Orleans, LA 70124. Phone: 504-982-8207; email: todd@lawealthplan.com; website: https://lawealthplan.com/?utm_source=newsanchored&utm_medium=atl-wire&utm_campaign=family-office
Disclaimer: Sponsored feature written on behalf of Todd M. Villarrubia. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results vary.
