Eliza Orleans
Principal
Caleb White
Principal
In our work, we are regularly asked to help families find their footing in moments of transition, whether it’s leadership or ownership succession, a sale of a company, or another major life or business event. In these moments, one of the most powerful things a family can do is pause and ask: What do we stand for, and how do we want to work together? The answer to those questions, documented, agreed upon, and revisited over time, is a family constitution.
A family constitution can be a truly foundational document, something that goes well beyond the typical mission, vision, and values work that many families undertake. A family constitution helps establish what we often call the rules of the road: the family norms, expectations, and structures that guide how it operates and who is included as “family.”
In practical terms, this might include a family employment policy, a cadence for family meetings, a framework for conflict resolution, and a clear picture of how the family relates to its operating company, its family office, its family governance structures (e.g., family assembly, family council, owner’s council, etc.), or its philanthropic endeavors. It ties the family’s legacy, values, and aspirations to something concrete, a shared document they can return to across generations.
A family constitution can really be a foundational document, something that goes beyond the typical mission, vision, and values that families often work on.
Why would a family need one? Because the absence of a shared framework is rarely benign. Families grow. Ownership becomes more complex. The rising generation arrives with different expectations and different relationships to the enterprise. Without something written down and agreed upon, confusion, conflict, and often disappointment are almost inevitable.
How Do You Write a Family Constitution?
It is easy enough to say, “Let’s make a family constitution.” The harder question is, how do we go about it? The first and most important thing to understand is that the process of crafting a family constitution is just as important as the document itself. Part of the value is that it creates an opportunity for the family to come together, step out of the day-to-day, and get genuinely aligned on what matters most.
The process begins with asking thoughtful, even provocative questions, ones that invite the family to make the implicit, explicit:
- What values guide our family? Trust? Loyalty? Stewardship? Something else? What do those values look like in practice? What behaviors are expected?
- What about our legacy are we most proud of? What do we want to carry forward?
- What do we want to specifically achieve together? Financially? In terms of impact?
- What will we do when we disagree? How will differences across generations, across branches, and even within family groups be discussed and managed?
From there, the process moves through drafting, iterating, and ultimately ratification, a formal moment in which family members collectively endorse the document. Along the way, having an experienced outside facilitator makes a meaningful difference: someone who can encourage candor and keep the conversation anchored in the family’s actual goals.
While every family constitution is unique, some common elements include the family’s mission, vision, and values; governance structure(s); family employment and ownership policies; communication norms and conflict-resolution guidelines; and the family’s relationship to its enterprise. A sample index accompanies this piece for those who want a more detailed picture of what these documents typically contain.
Writing a family constitution can feel really scary or intimidating, and it may even feel like something you don’t have time to do, but it is certainly worth the brain space and effort. Your family will be grateful in the long run.
— Boston-area Trusts & Estates Attorney
The Process Is the Point, and the Document Is Never Finished
First: the process of building a constitution is as valuable as the end product. The conversations families have on the way to a constitution about values, legacy, and how they want to treat one another are often ones they have never had before. They surface long-held assumptions, reveal unexpected alignment, and allow disagreements to be addressed in a structured process rather than in the middle of a crisis. The document is the artifact; the transformation occurs in its making.
Second: a family constitution is a living document. Families change. The external environment shifts. A constitution written for one generation must evolve to serve the next. We recommend a formal review every three to five years, not as a sign that something went wrong, but as a sign of a healthy governance system doing exactly what it should.
A family constitution is a living and breathing document. It can and must change over time. It’s really important to revisit it at least once every three to five years.
— Boston-area Trusts & Estates Attorney
While it can be an investment of a good deal of time, the return on that investment, in clarity, in alignment, and in the strength of family relationships, is well worth it.