{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The Conversation Your Family Needs to Have Before You Die \u2014 with Attorney Don Ford","description":" The Enlightened Family Business Podcast Ep. 157: The Conversation Your Family Needs to Have Before You Die \u2014 with Attorney Don Ford   In this episode of the Enlightened Family Business Podcast, host Chris Yonker sits down with Don Don Ford III, estate planning attorney and founding partner at Ford Bergner in Texas, for a candid conversation about the estate planning conversations most families are actively avoiding \u2014 and what it costs them when they do. Drawing on over 30 years of working with high-net-worth families and business owners, Don shares the real-world consequences of leaving heirs unprepared, how to think objectively about your children's attributes when designing an estate plan, and why putting the wrong people in the wrong roles can unravel decades of wealth building in a courtroom. They explore the danger of co-beneficiary trusts, the $88\u2013$125 trillion great wealth transfer underway through 2045, and how the next generation can have respectful conversations with aging parents about the future. Don also offers practical guidance on how to select and vet your advisory team \u2014 and why introducing your kids to your advisors now may be the most important wealth transfer move you make. Episode Chapters \u00b7       2:01   Meet Don Ford \u00b7       4:45   What Actually Keeps Families Together \u00b7       7:42   When Wealth Lands Without Warning \u00b7       11:04  The Burden Nobody Asked For \u00b7       15:49  Fair vs. Equal: The Executor Trap \u00b7       19:00  When the Board Destroys the Business \u00b7       22:11  Trust Structures That Blow Up Later \u00b7       25:43  The $125 Trillion Transfer \u00b7       31:21  What Wealthy Families Actually Look Like Up Close \u00b7       33:54  Advice for the Patriarch or Matriarch \u00b7       36:46  What Next Gen Should Be Asking \u00b7       40:02  Build Your Advisory Team \u00b7       43:44  Resources and Farewell   Websites \u00b7       fordbergner.com \u00b7       chrisyonker.com   About Don Ford Don Don Ford III is an estate planning attorney and founding partner at Ford Bergner, where he has spent over 30 years advising high-net-worth families, business owners, and multi-generational family enterprises across Texas on estate and trust planning, wealth transfer, and family governance. A graduate of accounting with a law degree focused on estate and trust work, Don brings both technical precision and a deeply human perspective to some of the most complex and emotionally charged decisions families face. He is a frequent advisor on trust litigation, family board disputes, and the design of governance structures built to last beyond the founding generation. ","author_name":"The Enlightened Family Business Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/thesecretthoughtsofceospodcast.libsyn.com\/website","html":"