Most families end up with their advisor roster by accident. Someone was recommended, someone handled the business sale, someone’s been there since the beginning. Each relationship made sense individually. The collection was never designed.
That’s worth fixing, because the quality of the advisor team and how well it works together has a larger effect on outcomes than most individual decisions any one advisor makes.
Start with the functions, not the people
Rather than asking “who should we hire,” start with what actually needs covering:
- +Tax, planning and compliance across entities and individuals
- +Legal, entity structure, estate and trust work, transactions, contracts
- +Investment, management and oversight of the portfolio
- +Accounting and bookkeeping, for entities, trusts, and the office itself
- +Trust administration, where trusts exist
- +Insurance and risk, property, liability, life, and specialty coverage
- +Banking and lending
- +Valuation, for reporting, tax, gifting, and transactions
- +Coordination, someone responsible for making the whole thing function together
Map what you have against that list, and gaps and overlaps usually become obvious quickly. Most families find both.
What to look for in each relationship
Genuine relevant experience. Not just competence in the field, but experience with situations like yours. An excellent tax attorney whose practice is corporate M&A isn’t the right fit for complex family trust planning, you will want to hire an estate attorney.
Independence and clear compensation. Understand exactly how each advisor gets paid and what incentives that creates. Not every conflict is disqualifying, but everyone should be on the same page and know what they are getting and for what fee.
Willingness to coordinate. An advisor who won’t engage constructively with the rest of the team creates friction that outlasts whatever technical skill they bring.
Communication that fits how you operate. Responsiveness, clarity, and a willingness to explain matters more than just liking someone at the outset, work with advisors that speak your language.
Capacity. Is your family actually a priority for this firm, or are you a small account getting junior attention?
Reviewing the team periodically
Most families never formally review their advisors or give feedback. But results depend on everyone pulling the same direction, so a periodic or annual review is worth adding to the routine. Not adversarial, just a structured look at:
Scope. Is what each advisor does still what you need? Scopes drift over time, in both directions.
Performance and responsiveness. Are they delivering, on time, at the quality expected?
Economics. Is what you’re paying reasonable for what you’re getting? This is worth asking even when the answer is yes.
Coordination. Do they work well with the rest of the team, or create friction?
Continuity. What happens if the individual you work with retires or leaves? Is there depth behind them?
Alignment. Are their recommendations consistent with your stated objectives, or with their own preferred approach?
A periodic or annual look at each advisor, what they cover, how they are performing, and what gaps need addressing, is how everyone stays aligned.
The coordination gap
The most common structural problem isn’t a weak advisor, it’s that nobody owns the space between advisors. Each one operates competently within their scope, and things fall through the gaps between scopes. Decisions requiring two advisors to align sit unresolved. Information gets duplicated or lost.
Somebody has to own coordination. Sometimes that’s a family member with the time and expertise, sometimes internal staff, and sometimes an outside party engaged specifically for that purpose. What doesn’t work is assuming it will happen on its own.
On changing advisors
Long tenure isn’t the same as good fit. Families often keep advisors well past the point of usefulness out of loyalty or inertia, particularly with relationships that predate a significant increase in complexity. An advisor who was right for a simpler situation isn’t necessarily right for the current one, and that’s not a criticism of them. Outgrowing systems is a sign of a job well done. Handing off certain aspects of operations to an advisor with the right expertise, with clear communication, makes for an elegant transition, and is how complexity gets managed properly.
ProDelta Advisors helps families evaluate, coordinate, and manage their advisor teams, including building frameworks for periodic review.
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