Preparing Children for Wealth: The Psychology of Family Office Succession
Episode 11: Jess McGawley, Founder of Dallington
Episode 11 of the AYU Family Office Podcast
“Family offices are very good at preparing the wealth for the children. They are not very good at preparing the children for the wealth." In Episode 11 of the AYU Family Office Podcast, Jess McGawley, consulting psychologist and founder of Dallington makes the case that the human side of wealth transfer is the most important and most neglected part of succession planning.
From the Tavistock to Family Offices
Jess trained at the Tavistock, the NHS's specialist psychotherapy institution intending to become a psychotherapist. A part-time role helping a family office advisory build next gen development programmes turned into seven years. What she found was a set of problems that were deeply real but largely invisible. "There's no empathy for people with money. And this is a shame, because they have challenges too that need supporting."
The Real Problems Next Gen Face
Loneliness. Wealthy young people are often assumed to be living a glamorous life. The reality is frequently the opposite growing up as global citizens, moving constantly, they often struggle to form the deep peer connections most people take for granted.
The motivation split. Some next gen individuals respond to the pressure of their inheritance by over achieving compulsively. Others appear disengaged not because they lack ability but because the scale of what they're supposed to follow feels impossible. "If you walked into every room and someone said 'it's Jane's daughter' that's how you start your life."
The cultural gap. Many first generation wealth creators came from working class backgrounds. They had cash in hand, they made it through grit. Then, with the best of intentions, they raised their children in a completely different culture one without the formative friction that built their own resilience. "The reason they're so successful is precisely because they didn't have everything."
What Actually Helps
Jess's approach at Dallington is developmental and proactive rather than reactive. Next gen preparation needs to start far earlier than it typically does during adolescence, with age appropriate financial and governance education, not at 35 when someone is handed a seat at a trust meeting.
For parents, the hardest advice is often the simplest: let them fail. "If they blow the budget, fail some exams, mess up an interview, let them feel it. Don't swoop in. It's frankly the most loving thing you can do."
The $84 Trillion Question
The stakes are enormous. The intergenerational wealth transfer already underway is estimated at $84 trillion globally — the largest in history. The majority of new wealth holders will be women. For family office that have invested in legal frameworks and investment committees but not in the human infrastructure to support the next generation, Jess's work represents the missing piece.
Listen to the Full Episode
Episode 11 of the AYU Family Office Podcast is available now on Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
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