Family governance is the structure a family uses to make shared decisions about wealth. It usually produces three artifacts: a documented family narrative, a mission statement drawn from the family's values, and a written family constitution. Assets transfer automatically at death; judgment and values do not. Governance is the mechanism that carries them.
Most families arrive at governance after noticing a gap. The estate documents are drafted, the trusts are funded, the tax work is handled — and there is still no shared understanding of what the money is for or how decisions get made when the person who built it is no longer the one making them.
In practice, governance is less formal than the word suggests. For some families it is a written constitution and a standing quarterly meeting. For others it is an annual conversation with an agenda and someone taking notes. What matters is that it exists, that it is written down, and that the next generation has participated in creating it rather than inheriting it.
The process typically begins with interviews. Family members are asked separately about the family's history, what they believe the money is for, and what they would not want to see change. Those answers rarely match as closely as anyone expects, and the gap between them is usually where the useful work is.
This definition is provided for educational purposes. It is general information, not investment, tax, or legal advice, and it does not account for any individual circumstances.