NextGen Wealth

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raises the estate tax exemption to $15 million per person in 2026, easing the rush around end-of-year planning. It also broadens incentives for private investments, real estate and philanthropy — prompting family offices to rethink long-term strategies.

Family office leaders and advisors say many families are now entering “simplification mode,” consolidating assets and rethinking estate plans to make them more manageable.

Emily Bouchard is a fractional chief learning officer for family offices. She talks about the role of a chief learning officer and how it’s evolved.

After a 37-year career creating and growing international brands at the Alberto Culver Company, founded by her parents, Carol Lavin Bernick negotiated the sale of the company to Unilever in 2011. Since then, she has led her family’s business office, Polished Nickel Capital Management. She discusses what she has learned about estate planning and what she teaches her children about wealth preservation.

Jake Knight is a second-generation member of the family that founded Knight Transportation. (His father co-founded the company with his brother and two cousins.) He is also the co-founder, with Marc Hodulich of Enclave, of a peer network and community for rising-gen individuals from ultra-high-net-worth families. He discusses what he’s learned, from his own experience and from talking to peers, about the complexities of inheriting wealth.