A Veritage study on wealthy business families finds that emotional blind spots, unsafe communication, and overlooked mental health issues can disrupt succession. It urges families to add emotional governance and structured dialogue to technical planning so ownership transitions remain stable and relationships more resilient.
— Families of wealth often appear carefully organized around tax, investment, and legal structures, yet a new Veritage International report turns attention to what happens emotionally when wealth and control move between generations. The study, The Missing Link in Family Business Transitions: How Emotional Disconnection Threatens Family Legacy, concentrates on how those emotional undercurrents shape real‑world decisions in business families during ownership and leadership transitions.
The study draws on 77 qualitative interviews with 35 founders or current owners and 42 next‑generation members. Participants came from global business families whose primary operations or family offices are based across North America, Europe, Australia and Oceania, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East.
Veritage asked both generations what it means to be “adequately equipped” to inherit ownership or wealth. Founders and current owners most often described readiness in terms of education, work experience, governance knowledge, and financial literacy, while next‑generation interviewees placed more weight on emotional maturity, clarity of role, and feeling safe to speak honestly. The report states that this gap in expectations represents a central emotional dynamic in family wealth transitions, because each side may believe the other is missing what really matters.
The research frames these tensions under the concept of “emotional governance,” defined as having emotions regulated in a way that they are an asset, rather than a liability, to the wider family system and enterprise. When asked to name their main emotional challenges, founders most often pointed to entitlement and rivalry, typically associated with younger family members, while next‑generation participants cited poor communication and perceived control from the current owning generation. That contrast, the authors argue, shows how the same family can describe its emotional dynamics in very different terms depending on vantage point.
Data in the report indicates that one out of every three next‑generation respondents said they do not feel emotionally safe to share their challenges with their family. In addition, 37 percent of founders and 55 percent of next‑generation members reported having experienced a mental health–related issue, such as anxiety or depression, at some point in their lives. Pressure to perform appears in both generations, mainly self‑imposed, and the report suggests that unspoken strain may influence whether people stay engaged in the business or withdraw from leadership and ownership discussions.
Another pattern that emerged involves formal governance. Around 55 percent of founders and 41 percent of next‑generation participants said their families have documents that cover succession and wealth transfer, yet 64 percent of founders and 76 percent of younger members stated that these frameworks do not address emotional issues or family dynamics. Only a small share of respondents reported working with external advisors on emotional family dynamics, despite many naming communication and emotional safety as active concerns.
The report closes with practical entry points rather than strict prescriptions. Suggested steps include noticing recurring tension in meetings, normalizing emotional struggle, and creating structured spaces where family members can talk about expectations, roles, and personal purpose without fear of punishment. A final reflection from Veritage observes that families of wealth often invest heavily in financial capital yet devote less structured attention to human capital, and suggests that addressing emotional dynamics more directly may help future wealth transitions feel more deliberate, stable, and successful.
About Veritage International
Veritage is an international coaching firm dedicated to creating a safer world for business families, one built on trust, respect, and mutual understanding. The firm is founded on the belief that every human being seeks to feel safe in their relationships, their environment, and with their wealth.
Veritage’s mission is to help wealth-owning families unlock their full potential by fostering emotional safety that supports unified and effective decision-making.
Through its unique and highly personalized coaching model, Veritage guides families from states of disconnection and disharmony to a place where they can thrive together and flourish for generations to come.
The Missing Link in Family Business Transitions: How Emotional Disconnection Threatens Family Legacy report can be downloaded here.
Contact Info:
Name: Francesco Lombardo
Email: Send Email
Organization: Veritage International
Address: Hamilton, Bermuda
Website: http://veritage.ca
Release ID: 89181531
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