Money problems can threaten the relationships a family values most. This practical guide shows families how they can protect their love and their money by building trust.A secret credit card. An unpaid family loan. Unequal support for siblings. An aging parent who needs help managing money. An inheritance that feels unfair. Each situation raises questions about honesty, care, responsibility, and whether family members can rely on one another.
Most families enter these conversations without shared language or a clear process. Important issues go unspoken, assumptions turn into resentment, and a financial disagreement can cause lasting damage.
In this book, trust expert Charles Feltman, whose
Thin Book of Trust has sold nearly 100,000 copies, and family dynamics advisor Emily Bouchard give families a practical framework for handling money while strengthening their relationships. Drawing on fifty years of combined experience, they show how 4 essential components of trust—care, sincerity, reliability, and competence—shape nearly every financial decision a family makes.
You’ll learn how to
- uncover the family stories and values that influence your behavior with money;
- talk openly about finances with partners, children, siblings, and aging parents;
- make fair decisions when family members have different needs or abilities;
- create clear agreements that prevent misunderstandings and broken promises; and
- repair trust after financial secrecy, betrayal, or conflict.
Real family stories demonstrate how the framework applies to everyday spending, financial infidelity, caregiving, blended families, addiction, inheritance, estate planning, and the transfer of wealth across generations. The included discussion guide on trust in action provides questions and activities families can use to begin important conversations.
Short, practical, and immediately useful, this book helps families address financial issues before resentment takes hold and begin repairing relationships when damage has already been done.
Make money decisions that support your family’s well-being while strengthening the trust that holds your relationships together.
