Will a Play Really Solve Family Estate Planning Squabbles?

The following excerpt if from Rachel Emma Silverman, Making Peace Over Money; New Services Aim to Prevent Family Battles Over Wealth; Watching 'Born Rich' Movie, Wall St. J., Oct. 21, 2006, at B1.

In a new dramatic play, a couple struggles to figure out how to best leave an inheritance to their children, all of whom have different careers and financial situations. After it ends, audience members discuss the storyline with the characters.

It's no ordinary play. "The Big PayDay" is a production of a New York group called Shaking the Tree, which subcontracts with wealth-management firms to teach families how to avoid nasty fights over their gobs of money.

The play is part of a new wave of offerings from financial-services firms, estate lawyers and even psychologists aimed at helping super-rich families keep the peace at a time when trillions of dollars are expected to pass from one generation to another over the next few decades.

Special thanks to Prof. Joel C. Dobris of the University of California-- Davis for bringing this article to my attention.