What If Your Family Could Stay Aligned for Generations?
In the latest episode of The WealthTech Podcast, Josh Kanter, family wealth executive turned founder of leafplanner, shares the story behind building a platform designed to tackle one of the biggest problems in wealth transfer: the invisible gaps that derail even the best-laid plans.
Josh’s journey isn’t theoretical. It’s personal. He lived through the chaos of settling a complex family estate, where millions in value and years of effort were nearly lost, not because of bad planning, but because crucial knowledge wasn’t captured or shared.
1. Why Information, Not Just Data, Is the Missing Piece in Wealth Transfer
Wealth management today excels at producing data: performance reports, valuations, balance sheets. But when it comes to transferring wealth across generations, data alone doesn’t cut it.
- Where are the critical documents?
- Who are the key advisors and decision-makers?
- Why were certain structures put in place?
- What happens if one person is no longer around to explain it all?
These are the questions that get overlooked, and they’re the ones that create confusion, conflict, and costly mistakes. leafplanner addresses this by creating a structured, secure way to organize and communicate the full picture of a family’s wealth, not just the numbers.
2. Preparing for Succession Instead of Reacting to It
Josh’s insight is simple but profound: Most families only discover what’s missing when it’s too late.
leafplanner flips that script by enabling families to:
- Map out assets, entities, and relationships in one place
- Capture decision-making context and instructions while the right people are still here to provide it
- Spot blind spots in planning and governance long before they become crises
This proactive approach turns succession from a reactive fire drill into a managed, predictable transition, one that preserves not just wealth, but family harmony.
3. What Advisors Need to Know About Delivering True “Family Office Services”
For advisors, leafplanner isn’t just a digital vault, it’s a framework for deeper engagement:
- Educate and align clients: Move beyond compliance and document storage to real understanding.
- Strengthen relationships: Provide a tool that makes collaboration between family members and advisors seamless.
- Add strategic value: Help clients identify risks, gaps, and opportunities they couldn’t see on their own.
As trillions in wealth prepare to change hands globally, advisors who can deliver this kind of clarity will define the next generation of family office services.
4. Transparency, Complexity, and Emotional Intelligence
Josh emphasizes that managing significant wealth isn’t just technical—it’s deeply human. Planning without addressing the emotional dynamics of family relationships, succession roles, and legacy intent is planning for failure.
Leafplanner is designed with this reality in mind: it bridges complexity with clarity and empowers families to have the conversations that truly matter, guided by trust and transparency.
5. The Human Side of Legacy
The podcast closes on a lighter note, revealing Josh beyond the boardroom: his favorite book (Pillars of the Earth), his love for The Bahamas, and his time with family and dogs. It’s a reminder that wealth, at its core, is about supporting what we value most.
Final Takeaway
Successful wealth transfer isn’t about building bigger spreadsheets, it’s about capturing the knowledge, context, and intent that ensures a family’s plans actually work when it matters most.
leafplanner makes that possible, transforming complex family wealth from a fragile system held in a few heads to a durable framework that can last for generations.
