Forward Thinking
Insights for family financial success
Health Conversations with Aging Parents
An often overlooked thread in the inheritance process is our aging parents and grandparents’ health. And while of course there is a financial element here that...
Not All Assets Are Created Equal
Continuing a theme for the past few posts, I’ve been watching a family deal with the loss of their matriarch. Everyone is grieving in their own way, being...
Suffer with Grace
It’s been a rough few days, as the family I noted in my last post lost their matriarch. I am gutted for each of them, for the family, and for their friends and...
Family Responses to Tragedy
As some of you may know, I lost my mother in 1998. It’s an experience that has dominated my life, for all of the reasons. I was and am very fortunate that my...
If You Can Keep Your Head
Like so many, I am a huge fan of Kipling’s If. It’s a pillar of my beliefs and helps remind me where and how to focus my energies. There is an enduring nature...
How the Wealthy Are Preparing
In the best possible way, I had 5+ people send me the WSJ article Gen X and Millennials Will Inherit Trillions in Real Estate Over the Next Decade. Thank you...
On Being Neighborly
At the end of the process, which took a few hours spread over a few weeks, my friend looked at me and said, “Congratulations, you now have a new trust. Next...
Tips for Tough Conversations with Aging Parents
A rather lovely human (you know who you are!) sent me the article 5 Tips for Tough Conversations with Aging Parents from her local news. The advice from Karen...
On Leadership to Survive Chaos
As many of you know / remember, this week marks the one year anniversary of the Eaton Canyon and Palisades fires. Being founded and headquartered in Los...
What to Expect from Forward
Welcome to 2026! On behalf of everyone at Forward, we are honored to serve and help families move forward! As we expand our Home Equity Investment operations...
Passing Down More Than Just Stuff
Passing Down More Than Just StuffDec 31, 2025Happy New Year’s Eve! Before we celebrate the year that was and anticipate the year upcoming, I wanted to briefly...
Three Ways to Protect Your Inheritance
Wishing everyone a wonderful festive season, and I hope it brings you peace and joy. Business Insider ran an article on Christmas Day which I will share below....
Purposeful Conversations during the Holidays
We are well within the festive season, and on behalf of everyone at Forward, however you choose to celebrate, we wish you and yours a lovely holiday. If your...
The Talk - Part 3
One of the recurring themes of these posts (and life) is Harder Now, Easier Later or Easier Now, Harder Later. You get to choose, but the bill always comes...
Inheritance...But When?
Inheritance...But When?Dec 17, 2025I have been quoting @KurtSupeCPA via X often in these posts, as I find his perspective to be interesting and helpful. I came...
Live Your Legacy - Part 3
We have talked before about how Mom and Dad can Live Their Legacy, Not Just Leave It. It’s a beautiful concept that allows Mom and Dad to enjoy the just...
Solving the King Lear Problem
The article highlights three main reasons why allowing the Next Generation to access a portion of their future inheritance today is valuable for the family:...
Death and Taxes - Part 2
“A growing number of older homeowners are subject to the capital gains tax on home sales. Some baby boomers say they're holding onto their homes so their kids...
Death and Taxes - Part 1
In prior posts I’ve referenced The Talk I had with my father, and one of the massive insights that is obvious in hindsight but I didn’t fully appreciate at the...
Be a Warrior in the Garden
I came across a post by Sahil Bloom on X this morning, and the key insight struck me: “It’s better to be a warrior in the garden than a gardener at war.”...
Live Your Legacy - Part 2
Echoing my quick Black Friday post, here’s another short one inspired by @unusual_whales on X (fka Twitter):“A record 32% of household wealth is now held by...
Live Your Legacy
Quick post on a Black Friday courtesy of @KurtSupeCPA on X (fka Twitter) who outlines a perfect case of our parents Living Their Legacy, Not Just Leaving It....
"The Hypothetical" Approach
As we approach Thanksgiving, we are delivering the fifth and final installment of conversation starters with our parents about their estate, and we do so via a...
"Professional Third Party" Approach
Continuing on the series about conversation starters with our parents about our future inheritance, sometimes the right approach is the profession one....
"Help Me Help You" Approach
Happy Friday and welcome to post 3 of 5 on conversation starters we can have with Mom and Day about their estate preparation. Channeling our inner Jerry...
"Focus on Wishes, Not Wealth" Approach
“2. The "Focus on Wishes, Not Wealth" Approach (The Legacy Opener) This approach focuses on his values and desires, which are generally easier and more...
"Starting with my Own" Approach
It was fun to explore five conversation starter strategies courtesy of Gemini last week. Since those were overviews, some have asked if we could dive deeper...
Generational Financial Conversations
This can be daunting, but we can navigate them well. So where do we begin? With AI, of course! ;-) According to Gemini (edited for brevity): Approaching these...
Passing Down Real Estate
As we continue to think about generational wealth transfer, Boomer realities, Next Gen realities, and the process, one of the things we can all do is...
If Only...
Happy Halloween! And not to spook anyone, but according to our friends at The Morning Brew, “We regret to inform you that the kids are not all right—and by...
Boomer Realities
As we explore the themes around The Greatest Wealth Transfer in Human History, a few folks have asked me how our parents and grandparents might respond to...
Healthspan
I was very fortunate to attend a Healthspan event this week, focusing on multiple levels of wellness, from brain function to body health to biome diversity to...
Household as a Percentage of Wealth
Our parents and grandparents have, generally speaking, won at the game of life. The standard of living from when they were born to today is astounding. They...
Hard Conversation Around Inheritance
A friend recently pointed me to the thorough research done by The Milken Institute...
Negotiating Inheritance Part 2
Alliance Bernstein shared a great piece called The Big Reveal: Unveiling the Extent of Your Wealth to Your Heirs...
Negotiating Inheritance
"As housing stress and cost-of-living pressures mount, adult children are asking parents to unlock their wealth early — or to stop spending it," per Bloomberg...
Co-Buying Real Estate
Continuing to learn from the NPR series Cost of Living: The Price We Pay, there is an article “Why friends are teaming up to buy homes” which highlights the...
More on Real Estate
There is a new NPR's series Cost of Living: The Price We Pay which is examining the economic realities of 2025. It’s fascinating and heartbreaking and...
Real Estate
This situation is untenable and flies in the face of The American Dream. Many are trying to help, but perhaps it’s a good idea to take a step back and...
Data on the State of Play
Below are some interesting data points on the current state of play for the largest generational wealth transfer in human history. Balancing these facts with...
This Is About All of Us
First, truly appreciate the kind notes and support from the last post. But these posts aren’t about me, they are about all of us.Throughout the years, I’ve...
Probate Advance Solutions
Continuing to explore the probate space a little bit, this seems like a big, nebulous part of society that is a social good which will always exist, and likely...
Probate Items
Estates, Probate, and Trusts, ohmy! I learned from an estate resolution attorney this week that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to dispute a will,...
What Is an Inheritance
“What is an inheritance, anyway?” It is such a rhetorical question, yet when was the last time we stopped to actually answer it thoughtfully? Or objectively,...
Modern Inheritance
There’s a clear reason that modern inheritance is trickier than previous generations – people are living a lot longer than they used to:In 1950, the typical US...
The Great Wealth Transfer
While I’ve been rather public about what my family is going through, I would like to zoom out for a bit and (re)share some thinking from our friends at Alts,...
Forward Is For Everyone
I’ve been focused on my family, which is the fundamental reason we’ve started Forward. But I would like to widen the aperture while staying rooted in the...
Health Scares
File this in the “Hey Simulation, this is a little on the nose” category: My father went in for a routine procedure, and it was enough of a big deal that two...
The Second Talk
A couple of days after having The Talk with my father, I called to let him know how proud I was of him and how well he handled himself. I was impressed. He...
The Talk
I've been thinking a lot about family planning, and I had The Talk recently. You know the one: I had The Talk with my 81 year old father. We had The Talk about...
Welcome to Forward
Welcome to ForwardAug 12, 2025Welcome to Forward! We help families with their inheritance and generational wealth transfer. We do this in a variety of ways,...
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