Steven Fox
ON THE RECORD · 9 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“It's so much easier just to have one person dealing with it than to have to gain approvals from various children's trusts or children themselves,”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox recommended placing a family business in a pot trust with one child as trustee rather than requiring approvals from multiple children.
“I rarely draft that into estate plans, because just because one sibling has cancer and all of a sudden is going to die young, it's not fair for their children to be divested,”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox said the 'last man standing' clause in the Buss family trust is unusual in estate planning.
“That doesn't work for the Lakers, because there's a lot of swag that goes along with running the Lakers. But it works for some businesses, and it's worked perfectly for this family,”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox said keeping family members out of managing a business has worked well for some families but would not work for the Lakers.
“I've now done that with several clients.”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox said he has applied the approach of barring family members from working for a company with several clients.
“Siblings are difficult. We're talking about a lot of bad blood.”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox said having one trustee manage a family business trust is easier than gaining approval from multiple children.
“I tell my clients you're never going to stop your kids and grandkids from suing each other, because they didn't earn this; it's inherited,”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox said trust clauses requiring arbitration or disinheriting litigious children are not necessarily enforceable.
“I always tell clients you're going to destroy the relationship between your children. Once three of them gang up on one of them, the one that gets outvoted — and the business then gets sold — is going to harbor bad feelings the rest of their life against these three siblings,”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox said most of his clients prefer a majority-rule approach, which he believes can worsen family ties.
“there's plenty of money for them to have a great lifestyle,”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox discussed using a secured note to compensate grandchildren if a life insurance death benefit is insufficient.
“You built it up. You took all the risk when you had nothing and were putting everything on your credit card. They don't have that muscle memory.”
Steven Fox · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-27
Fox said inherited wealth lacks the risk-taking experience of the wealth creator who built the business.