A family member asking to exit the family office is not, in itself, a crisis. It is a normal event in the life of a single family office, and one that every family should expect to handle at least once in each generation. Whether it strengthens or damages the family is almost entirely a function of how it is handled.
Three questions sit at the centre of every exit:
- How do we value the member's share of the office fairly?
- How do we generate the liquidity to release them on a mutually acceptable timeline?
- And how do we do both without jeopardising the underlying assets of the office?
The most important point is that the first exit sets a precedent. The conditions on which "Uncle Joe" leaves today are the conditions every future departing member will, rightly or wrongly, expect. Handled emotionally, the exit becomes a grievance that returns five years later. Handled with a clear, pre-agreed protocol, led by an independent third party, it becomes routine.
What makes this so difficult to manage internally is that a family office is, by nature, the most emotionally charged environment in the corporate world. Decisions that would be straightforward in any other company are weighted here by decades of shared history, inheritance, sibling dynamics, and the unspoken rules every family carries. Even with the best intentions, an exit handled in-house tends to generate resentment, and resentment in a family does not fade. It settles in, gets passed down, and resurfaces at every subsequent moment of tension, sometimes for generations. Bringing in a trusted third party (one who combines genuine financial expertise with a real understanding of what the family represents and why its unity matters) is often the single most important decision a family makes in this kind of moment.
Westwick often plays that role: designing the exit protocol before it is needed, running it when it is, and ensuring that the valuation and liquidity mechanics are transparent and understood by everyone. Exits are part of the life of a family office. Handled with the right framework and the right outside hand, they pass without leaving a mark. Handled poorly, they leave one for generations.
Further reading: the exit process as a governance tool — Westwick's white paper on governing single family offices.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when a family member wants to leave the family office?
Three questions have to be settled: how to value the member's share fairly, how to generate the liquidity to release them on a mutually acceptable timeline, and how to do both without jeopardising the office's underlying assets. Handled with a clear, pre-agreed protocol and an independent third party, the exit becomes routine. Handled emotionally and in-house, it becomes a grievance that returns for a generation.
Why should an exit from a family office be run by a third party?
Because a family office is the most emotionally charged environment in the corporate world. Decisions that would be straightforward elsewhere carry decades of shared history and sibling dynamics, and an exit handled internally tends to generate resentment that does not fade. A trusted third party who combines financial expertise with an understanding of the family's unity designs the protocol before it is needed, runs it when it is, and keeps the valuation and liquidity mechanics transparent for everyone.