A personal reflection from Perth — and a conversation I’m looking forward to continuing in Hong Kong.
I recently returned from Perth, where I had the privilege of speaking at the 2026 Collaborative Professionals Western Australia (CPWA) Conference about something very close to my heart: what happens to families when wealth, succession and personal relationships collide.
I went to Australia to speak about family office mediation, business disputes, trusts, estates, and succession planning. But what stayed with me most were the conversations: when a family is in conflict, the money is rarely the hardest part.
The Most Valuable Thing We Protect for Families is the Love and Wealth Across Generations
When families come to Cooley Family Office, our job is to help them think carefully about wealth, succession, and the structures that will carry their wishes forward.
But there is another part of that work that is just as important. We listen to understand what matters to each person and create a place where difficult things can be said before they become impossible things to resolve.
I often think about the person who spent a lifetime building the wealth after years of hard work and responsibility; their greatest wish isn’t just about equally dividing the assets.
They want to know their family is safe and the wealth is protected.
They want their children and grandchildren to understand what they built and why.
They want the people they love to have family gatherings.
To me, that is legacy.
From Perth to Hong Kong
One of the important outcomes in Perth is that the conversation isn’t ending there.
Some of the collaborative professionals I met in Perth are now coming to Hong Kong, where we will continue this important discussion through a four-day Family Office Mediation & Collaborative Practice Training Programme.
I am particularly excited about bringing these experts and ideas to Hong Kong families because they are navigating increasingly complex questions around succession, trusts, estates, family businesses, and intergenerational wealth.
How do we honor the wishes of one generation while giving the next generation a voice? How do we have conversations about succession before they become arguments? And when disagreements do happen, how do we resolve them without destroying relationships along the way?
These aren’t simply financial questions. They are family questions.
More Than Wealth Transfer
At Cooley Family Office, I don’t think of our work simply as transferring wealth from one generation to another. I think of it as helping families protect the family legacy. But also, their intentions. Their values. Their history. Their relationships. And the dignity of the people involved.
Mediation and collaborative practice give us an opportunity to bring the right people around the same table—family members alongside legal, financial, and family counsellors—not simply to decide who is right or wrong, but to understand what a workable future might look like for everyone involved.
And now, I am delighted to bring this conversation home to Hong Kong.
I look forward to welcoming Zinta, Anne-Marie & Debbie from Perth, sharing what we have learned with families and professionals.
We can protect family wealth without losing sight of the people it was created by and for.
Family Office Mediation & Collaborative Practice Training
26-29 September 2026
A four-day programme exploring how mediation and collaborative practice can provide a more thoughtful approach to family office, trust, estate, succession and intergenerational disputes.
For more information: contact@pacifichawk.com or call: +852-2362-8809
We invite you to learn more about the sessions, speakers, and registration.
