Creating a Family Owner's Manual With Josh Kanter

May 10, 2023

Josh Kanter, the founder of leafplanner, joins us today to discuss the importance of having a tool to collect, organize and map a family enterprise’s information in a single source. Wealthy families unprepared for the grantor's passing can be left in a problematic situation. The old 3-ring binder with information regarding banking and insurance policies doesn’t meet the needs of today’s affluent families. Josh’s unique system outlines what you didn’t know you needed to know. Tune in to learn about this valuable tool.  

 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

 

• [01:53] Josh describes his family’s situation and how a family owner’s manual functions for a family of wealth 
• [04:10] The family owner’s manual consists of far more information than bank accounts and life insurance policies 
• [06:01] The manual is a digital file that can be updated continually or printed for someone not adept at using technology. It’s designed to cover family history, relationships, and the whys and hows of the function of the business 
• [10:08] Josh shares some of the hurdles his family dealt with when his father became ill 
• [12:51] Josh outlines how the leafplanner shines a light on the blind spots that need to be considered  
• [16:35] How this system benefits a family educationally and provides empowerment 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

 

• A family owner’s manual gives instructions to a family to keep a business operating how it functioned before the founder became ill or passed away.  
• The manual shows relationships between decisions, accounts, expectations, etc., unllikey the old-fashioned 3-ring. 
• The leafplanner system alerts family members affected by the death of a grantor the information needed to continue a business. Every affluent family should have this system. 

 

RESOURCES: 

 

Beyond the Balance Sheet Website 

 

Josh Kanter Advisory Services Website 

 

leafplanner Website 

 

Josh Kanter - Email 

 

BIOGRAPHY: 

 

Josh Kanter is the founder of leafplanner, a platform built to collect, organize and map a family’s and family enterprise’s information in a single-source manner, allowing the identification of blind spots, providing a tool for the education of family members and advisors, and providing a family with a more effective, comprehensive, and efficient succession-of-information.  

 

Through Josh Kanter Wealth Advisory Services, Josh provides thoughtful, personalized multi‐generational family wealth advisory services to his clients, including family meeting facilitation, structuring, governance, trust, estate and tax planning, “blind spot” review, philanthropy, and more.  

 

Josh began his career as a lawyer before leaving his practice to build and run his family’s multi-generational, multi-branch family office for over 20 years. Josh is involved with numerous non-profit organizations and frequently speaks on family, family office, political, economic, and philanthropic topics. Josh received his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1987.