The symbol of Legacy Counsellors, P.C., is the copper beech tree; a majestic tree often found in formal gardens and parks. From our home in Western Massachusetts, we are not far from and often visit Newport, Rhode Island. Many copper beech trees grace the landscape of Newport’s famous Ocean Avenue mansions. The trunk of a copper beech tree is so broad that several adults could stand with outstretched arms and barely encircle its circumference. A healthy copper beech can grow to more than 100 feet in height, and 40-60 feet in diameter.
What makes the copper beech tree unique is its life cycle. A copper beech tree seedling planted today may not mature for 120 years, and may live as long as 200 years. Given a normal human life expectancy, a person planting a copper beech seedling will not live to see its maturity. It is simply an act of faith that the seedling planted today will grow, mature, adapt, and provide fruit and shelter for generations to come. When we work with families who are concerned with perpetuating family wealth, we often share with them the story of the copper beech tree as a metaphor to introduce the concepts of the perpetuation of multi-generational wealth and a wealth horizon that might be near perpetual. Helping your family adopt the processes of success through the generations is also an act of faith; you will not likely live to see the product of your efforts in full bloom.
Imagining wealth as intergenerational requires a change of mindset. It is to be expected that individuals think of “their” wealth as being for or about “them”. Most of the clients of Legacy Counsellors, P.C. are first or second generation creators of their family’s wealth. It is fairly natural for them to have a wealth horizon that extends only to their own death. Once a family attains sufficient financial capital to be reasonably certain that a meaningful inheritance will be left to the next generation, we suggest that it is time to begin thinking in terms of multi-generational wealth. As with most structural changes, adopting multi-generational wealth processes is first a state of mind. The successful family that can come to understand this philosophy will establish values and processes that will perpetuate the family’s wealth, and may well outshine even the copper beech tree and its longevity, health, and prosperity.