Building wealth, managing wealth, and transitioning wealth are not the same thing. You’ve built your business, dedicated vast amounts of time and money to it, and now you’re ready to consider your legacy. What are you passing on, and how does it reflect your values? Is your family prepared for the legacy they will receive, or are you leaving them a mess? In Don’t Leave a Mess!, estate planner and family business advisor Sandy Pollack unpacks what it means to make wise choices for your business that not only protect what you have worked so hard to build but reflect your why . With more than twenty years in the industry, Sandy helps family business owners unravel the complexities that running a successful business and building significant wealth can create. Join Sandy in a thoughtful exploration of your own history and values so you can set the right priorities, choose the right team of professional advisors, simplify your legacy, and communicate with your family so that no mess is left behind. "Like its great title, Don't Leave a Mess! has one outstanding element often missing in books about financial advice: its clear readability. Sandy Pollack writes in a straightforward, commonsense voice, easily conveying complex issues and recommendations in a very natural style. She boils things down to their essence without oversimplifying, using stories and examples to help explain things. If you want to read one book on family legacy planning, make it Don't Leave a Mess! " - James Grubman , PhD, family wealth consultant and author of Strangers in Paradise: How Families Navigate Wealth Across Generations "Most family business owners, particularly founders (Gen 1), avoid putting plans in place to deal with transition and succession. For various reasons, they struggle with knowing where to start and how to engage and communicate with their family to make rational decisions that will protect their legacy and wealth. The unfortunate outcome is a real mess for their family to clean up after they are gone. In this book, Don't Leave a Mess! , Sandy draws on her tremendous experience advising families to provide real-life strategies and guidance on how to successfully navigate planning your legacy. Her compelling stories and direct, no-nonsense approach will help family business owners overcome their procrastination and inertia to develop a true legacy-thinking mindset." - Bill Brushett , President and CEO of Family Enterprise Canada "This book is a wonderful resource for entrepreneurs and family business leaders. Sandy shares real-life stories which illustrate how easily things can go wrong, and then she follows up with clear, actionable advice to help us avoid disaster. Sandy also invites us to be courageous and to have regular, open conversations with our families so that we can 'Leave a Legacy' instead of 'Leaving a Mess!'" - David C. Bentall , President of Nextstep Advisors and FFI (Family Firm Institute) fellow "It's rare that a book delivers on its title. Don't Leave a Mess! not only delivers a powerful message about why we should organize our affairs, but it also tells us how. If implementing the ideas in this book weren't so simple, the devastation to family wealth from procrastination wouldn't be so sad. A must-read." - Tom Deans , PhD, author of Willing Wisdom and Every Family's Business " Silence is easy; opening up is hard. NOW GET MOVING! Written with a disarming combination of empathy and tough-mindedness, this book is a soup-to-nuts guidebook for the business-owning family. Need some ideas on how to start talking about money in your family? On picking the right advisors and getting rid of the wrong ones? On managing your own emotions while you do these tasks? The author provides grounded, practical strategies on everything it takes to do the hard, right things." - Moira Somers , PhD, C.Psych, author of Advice That Sticks "This book provides insight into the passion and commitment Sandra has towards family and business. Sandra guides you through some tried and true steps that have served her clients well and provided them with a path towards successful continuity in business, wealth, and most importantly, family cohesion." - Susan St Amand , TEP, FEA, ICD.D, Board Chair of Family Enterprise Canada, Executive in Residence at Telfer School of Management at University of Ottawa Family Enterprise Legacy Institute, and President of Sirius Group Inc. Sandy Pollack is the founder of Trimaran Advisory Group Ltd., a financial advisory firm that goes beyond traditional business and estate planning. Sandy and her team recognize the unique family dynamics, as well as personal and economic complexities, entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals face. Serving as both principal and Lead Financial Advisor, Sandy is an advocate for values-based legacy planning-believing that building wealth and managing wealth are not the same thing. Sandy is certified as a Family Enterpri