Suggested Appendices and Practitioner Tools

The appendices convert the playbook into a practical implementation kit. They are not meant to be used as generic forms without judgment. Each tool should be adapted to the family’s mandate, legal structure, complexity, risk tolerance, and governance model. A newly liquid founder, a fourth-generation family, a family with an operating business, and a family using a virtual office will use the same tools differently.

The best way to use these appendices is sequential. Start with the diagnostic, clarify the mandate, define the service model, decide what to insource or outsource, design the organization, establish authority, implement reporting and technology, evaluate vendors, and then manage the first 100 days. Once the office is operating, the annual review checklist becomes the discipline that keeps the model current.

Each appendix should have an owner, an approval path, and a review date. A template used once during set-up but never updated quickly becomes stale. The family office should store final versions in the document management system, record who approved them, and make clear which version is authoritative. Templates should simplify decisions, not create parallel paperwork.

Appendix A. Family Office Set-Up Diagnostic

Purpose: Assess whether the family needs a family office, what model is appropriate, and where the current operating gaps sit. The diagnostic should be completed through interviews, document review, advisor input, and a factual inventory of assets, entities, obligations, and stakeholders. Its output should be a short fact base, a prioritized gap list, and a recommended set-up path.

• Complexity: Number of family members, branches, entities, trusts, jurisdictions, properties, investments, and advisors.
• Current pain points: Reporting gaps, tax surprises, unclear decisions, missed deadlines, vendor sprawl, and family friction.
• Risk exposure: Liquidity, cybersecurity, concentration, insurance, controls, privacy, and succession risks.
• Design implication: Recommended model, priority capabilities, first hires, outsourced partners, and sequencing.

Appendix B. Family Office Mandate Template

Purpose: Document why the family office exists, whom it serves, what it will do, and how it will be governed. The mandate should be approved by the principal, family council, board, trustees, or other relevant authority. It should be brief enough to use in daily decisions and precise enough to prevent scope creep.

• Mission: The outcomes the office is expected to support, such as preservation, growth, governance, administration, philanthropy, or legacy.
• Clients served: Individuals, branches, trusts, entities, foundations, and businesses within scope.
• Services: Activities provided, coordinated, outsourced, excluded, or deferred.
• Accountability: Reporting cadence, budget approval, performance review, and escalation process.

Appendix C. Insource / Outsource / Co-Source Decision Matrix

Purpose: Decide how each service should be delivered. The matrix prevents families from building internal capability where external specialists are better suited, or outsourcing work that requires close family context and control. It should be applied service by service, not as one broad decision about the entire office.

• Insource: Use for work requiring confidentiality, frequent judgment, rapid response, or family-specific knowledge.
• Outsource: Use for specialized, regulated, technical, or occasional work where external scale matters.
• Co-source: Use when the family office owns coordination while external advisors provide technical execution.
• Review factors: Risk, frequency, sensitivity, cost, talent availability, control needs, and consequences of error.

Appendix D. Sample Family Office Organization Charts

Purpose: Provide starting structures by complexity level. The charts should be treated as design examples, not prescriptions. The family should first define the mandate, then assign roles. Each chart should also show reporting lines, outsourced functions, and the governance body to which the office is accountable.

• Lean office: Family office leader, CFO or controller, administrative coordinator, and outsourced specialists.
• Hybrid office: CEO or president, CFO, investment director, controller, reporting support, and selected external providers.
• Institutional office: CEO, COO, CIO, CFO, legal coordinator, tax coordinator, governance lead, philanthropy lead, and family services team.

Appendix E. Delegation of Authority Template

Purpose: Clarify who may approve payments, contracts, investments, grants, hires, vendor changes, and exceptions. The template should be reviewed by counsel and aligned with entity documents and fiduciary roles. It should be tested against real scenarios, such as urgent wires, capital calls, grant approvals, and related-party transactions.

• Decision type: Payment, wire, investment, capital call, contract, grant, hiring, debt, or related-party transaction.
• Threshold: Dollar amount, risk category, entity, or approval level requiring escalation.
• Approver: Person, committee, trustee, board, or principal authorized to approve.
• Evidence: Required memo, invoice, contract, minutes, resolution, or system approval record.

Appendix F. Monthly Reporting Package Template

Purpose: Standardize recurring reporting so decision-makers see a consistent view of performance, liquidity, risks, and open actions. The monthly package should be concise and operational. It should highlight what changed, what requires approval, what is off-track, and what could affect cash, tax, or risk.

• Executive summary: Key changes, decisions required, major risks, and upcoming deadlines.
• Financial view: Net worth, cash balances, liquidity forecast, spending, and budget-to-actual results.
• Investment view: Performance, allocation, manager updates, capital calls, and exceptions.
• Action register: Owners, deadlines, decisions pending, and unresolved issues.

Appendix G. Technology Requirements Checklist

Purpose: Define technology needs before vendor selection. Requirements should be tied to processes, reporting, security, and data ownership rather than to vendor features. The checklist should be completed before demonstrations so the family office evaluates vendors against its needs, not their sales narrative.

• Systems of record: Accounting, portfolio reporting, document management, payments, entity tracking, and compliance calendar.
• Security: Multi-factor authentication, permissions, audit logs, encryption, backups, access reviews, and incident response.
• Integration: Bank feeds, custodians, accounting systems, reporting platforms, tax advisors, and document repositories.
• Usability: Staff adoption, family access, advisor access, training needs, and support model.

Appendix H. Vendor Due Diligence Checklist

Purpose: Evaluate external providers before engagement and during periodic reviews. Vendors should be assessed for capability, economics, confidentiality, controls, and fit with the family’s mandate. This checklist is useful for both new selections and annual vendor performance reviews.

• Scope: Services included, exclusions, deliverables, assumptions, and dependencies.
• Team: Day-to-day contacts, senior oversight, experience, continuity, and backup coverage.
• Fees: Direct fees, embedded fees, expenses, renewal terms, and termination costs.
• Risk controls: Confidentiality, cybersecurity, insurance, compliance, error handling, and data ownership.

Appendix I. External Advisor Evaluation Scorecard

Purpose: Compare law firms, tax firms, banks, investment advisors, trustees, insurance brokers, consultants, and other advisors using a consistent approach. The scorecard should be completed by the internal relationship owner and reviewed with the family office leader or governance body.

• Capability: Technical quality, relevant experience, judgment, responsiveness, and problem-solving.
• Alignment: Independence, conflicts, compensation model, incentives, and willingness to challenge constructively.
• Coordination: Ability to work with other advisors, family office staff, trustees, and governance bodies.
• Value: Relationship quality, service consistency, fee reasonableness, and measurable contribution to outcomes.

Appendix J. Private Bank / RIA / OCIO Comparison Template

Purpose: Compare major investment and wealth advisory models. The template should help the family understand differences in services, economics, discretion, custody, reporting, and conflicts. It is especially useful after a liquidity event, when many providers may be presenting overlapping solutions.

• Private bank: Strong in lending, custody, banking, capital markets, and broad institutional access.
• RIA: Often strong in independent advice, planning, portfolio design, and open-architecture implementation.
• OCIO: Strong in delegated investment governance, manager selection, reporting, and portfolio execution.
• Decision criteria: Independence, discretion, fees, service depth, reporting, custody, credit needs, and governance fit.

Appendix K. First 100 Days Set-Up Plan

Purpose: Sequence implementation so the family office becomes operational without trying to solve everything at once. The first 100 days should stabilize control, reporting, advisors, and operating rhythm. The plan should have named owners, deadlines, dependencies, and a weekly review cadence.

• Days 1–30: Confirm mandate, client universe, authority, bank access, advisor map, document inventory, and urgent risks.
• Days 31–60: Implement reporting, payment controls, service catalog, technology priorities, tax calendar, and governance cadence.
• Days 61–100: Finalize staffing plan, vendor reviews, process documentation, risk register, first reporting cycle, and annual roadmap.

Appendix L. Annual Family Office Review Checklist

Purpose: Ensure the family office remains aligned with the family’s changing needs. The annual review should be a governance process, not an informal conversation. It should compare the mandate with actual services, costs, risks, staffing, advisor performance, technology, and stakeholder feedback.

• Mandate review: Confirm clients served, services provided, exclusions, and decision rights.
• Performance review: Assess reporting, investment governance, tax execution, risk management, service quality, and family satisfaction.
• Cost review: Review budget, staffing, vendor fees, technology costs, and outsourcing choices.
• Improvement plan: Set priorities, owners, deadlines, budget needs, and review cadence for the next year.

In practice, the tools work best when they are embedded into the operating rhythm. The diagnostic informs the design. The mandate guides service boundaries. The authority template governs approvals. Reporting and technology checklists support execution. Vendor and advisor scorecards create accountability. The first 100 days plan builds momentum. The annual review ensures that the office improves rather than simply repeats last year’s practices.

The practical test for each tool is whether a new family office leader could use it to understand the current state, make a decision, or take action without relying on unwritten history. If the answer is no, the tool should be simplified, clarified, or connected to the relevant process. The objective is not more documentation. The objective is better continuity, cleaner authority, stronger controls, and fewer decisions made from memory alone.

These appendices should be treated as living tools. They are most valuable when used repeatedly: during set-up, after major family events, before hiring decisions, during vendor reviews, and at the annual strategic review. The family office becomes stronger when its tools are simple enough to use, rigorous enough to guide decisions, and flexible enough to evolve with the family.