Family Lifestyle Orientation

Welcome to Your Family Office

Welcome! This document will help you understand how your family office works and how we support your family's lifestyle together. Think of this as your orientation guide — we've kept it simple and straightforward.

Everything here has been designed to help your family thrive, work together, and enjoy the benefits of collective success. Let's walk through how it all works.

What Is a Family Office?

A family office is simply a team and system that helps your family manage money, lifestyle, and working together. Think of it as your family's support team — handling bills, coordinating activities, and helping everyone work toward shared goals.

Your family office takes care of the details so your family can focus on what matters: building the business, spending quality time together, and growing wealth across generations.

The Big Picture: How This Benefits You

Here's what makes this approach powerful:

  • Strength in Numbers: When family works together, you accomplish more than you could alone. Shared resources mean better homes, vehicles, and opportunities for everyone.
  • Financial Stability: Your basic lifestyle needs are covered — housing, insurance, utilities, groceries. This gives you peace of mind and lets you focus on building wealth.
  • Personal Freedom: You receive your own dividend to spend however you choose, while also benefiting from shared family resources.
  • No Bill Stress: The family office handles all the payments and coordination — no more worrying about deadlines or juggling accounts.
  • Built to Last: This system is designed to grow wealth across generations, not just for today.

Think of it this way: individually, buying houses and cars and paying for insurance can be expensive and stressful. Together, your family can afford better quality, share costs, and everyone benefits.

How Family Members Participate

Participation is optional, but those who choose to be part of the family enterprise enjoy significant benefits. Here's how it works:

Active Members

Family members who work in the family enterprise and follow the family constitution become active members. This means:

What's expected? Work in the family business, attend required family meetings and events, follow the family constitution, and contribute to collective success.

How Money Works: Simple and Fair

Family Enterprise Income

Your family generates income from businesses and investments. This money belongs to the family as a whole because it's created through collective effort, shared knowledge, and family resources.

Here's the key idea: You're not just working for yourself — you're working with family. The income you help generate is amplified by the family's systems, assets, and collective wisdom. That's why it's pooled and then allocated fairly.

Three-Part Allocation

Every year, the family council decides how to allocate income into three buckets:

Example: If the family earned $1 million last year, the council might decide: 50% to business growth ($500K), 30% to dividends ($300K divided among members), and 20% to lifestyle ($200K for housing, vehicles, etc.).

What's Covered: Your Lifestyle Benefits

As an active family member, here's what the family office handles for you:

Housing

What's provided: You can choose to live in a family-owned property. The family maintains a list of approved homes where family members can live.

Why this matters: Rent or mortgage payments are expensive. By living in family housing, you avoid this major expense and can focus your dividend on other priorities.

Your choice: If you prefer to live elsewhere, you can — but you'll pay for it yourself using your dividend. The family encourages staying close to other working family members.

What's covered: Property taxes, insurance, utilities (electric, water, gas, internet).

Groceries

What's provided: Each family property gets a grocery budget based on how many people live there. This covers all your regular food needs.

Your choice: Want organic steaks or special treats? You can add your own money to buy extras. Once per week, you can use grocery funds to eat out.

Vehicles

What's provided: The family owns vehicles that are allocated to individuals or couples. The family office handles insurance, fuel, and maintenance.

The deal: You get a vehicle for your use, but it's available for other family members when needed for family business. If the family can't provide enough vehicles for everyone, members share or use personal funds.

Insurance (Health & Life)

What's provided: Active family members are covered under family health and life insurance plans. Premiums are paid from family lifestyle funds.

Cellphone & Technology

What's provided: You can join family-approved cell phone plans and AI services (like Claude or ChatGPT). The family covers the cost.

Your choice: Want a different provider or premium plan? You'll get a stipend toward the cost and pay the difference yourself.

Health & Fitness

What's provided: You get a health stipend to cover a gym membership. Join an approved gym and the family pays. Choose a different gym? You'll get a stipend and pay the difference.

Family Activities (Required)

The family office will organize required family meals, travel, and entertainment events. These are paid for by family lifestyle funds. Attendance is mandatory because they serve dual purposes: family bonding and business discussions.

Lifestyle Entertainment

The family council will purchase memberships and tickets to clubs, museums, fine arts, and other cultural activities. These serve both family enjoyment and important networking opportunities. The family is expected to participate and take advantage of these experiences.

What You Pay For: Personal Choices

Your dividend is YOUR money. Here's what you use it for:

Important: Any gains or losses from how you use your dividend are yours alone. Invest wisely and keep the profits. Make poor choices and bear the losses. The family doesn't bail you out or take your gains.

The Family Council: Where Decisions Are Made

The family council is where active family members come together to make important decisions. Think of it as your family's board meeting.

What the Council Decides

Frequency: The council reviews major decisions at least once per year, with additional meetings as needed.

Your Role

As an active family member, you participate in council discussions and decisions. Your voice matters. The family office coordinates these meetings and implements what the council decides.

What the Family Office Does for You

The family office is your support team. Here's what they handle so you don't have to:

Cost: The family office receives compensation for these services, which comes from family reserves. This is separate from your dividend.

Why This Approach Works

You might be wondering: why pool income and then allocate it? Why not just let everyone keep what they earn individually?

Here's the truth:

  • Leverage: When you work within the family enterprise, you benefit from family assets, knowledge, and systems. Your earnings are amplified by collective resources.
  • Fairness: Some family members might earn more in a given year, but everyone contributes differently. This system recognizes that all active members add value.
  • Efficiency: Buying houses, vehicles, and insurance for the whole family at once is cheaper and better than everyone doing it separately.
  • Unity: When everyone works toward shared goals, the family stays together and grows stronger.
  • Long-term thinking: Individual income thinking is short-term. Family wealth thinking builds across generations.

The bottom line: You're not giving up your earnings — you're multiplying them through family collaboration.

Getting Started: What Happens Next

Now that you understand how everything works, here's what comes next:

Welcome to Your Family's Future

This system is designed to help your family thrive together. You have the security of covered basic needs, the freedom of personal dividend income, and the power of collective family resources.

As you get comfortable with how things work, you'll discover that working together makes everyone stronger, wealthier, and happier than working alone.

Questions? The family office is here to help. Don't hesitate to ask for clarification on anything that's unclear.

Here's to your family's success — together!