This article was originally featured in the August 2026 edition of the Traverse City Business News.
For many successful families in Northern Michigan, wealth wasn’t built through a perfectly balanced portfolio. It was built through years of focus, risk, and hard work.
It may be a business that took decades to grow. It may be lakefront property, family land, a rental portfolio, a commercial building, or a concentrated investment that became far more valuable than expected.
That asset may be a major part of your family’s success story. It may also create risk if too much of your retirement income, liquidity, tax picture, estate plan, or family legacy depends on what happens to that one holding.
When success creates concentration
A concentrated asset is any single holding that represents a meaningful share of your wealth. If one asset represents 20-25% or more of your net worth, it’s worth a discussion. If it represents 50% or more, that asset may not simply be part of the plan, it may be driving the plan.
This is especially relevant in our area, where wealth is often tied to local businesses, lakefront property, family cottages, commercial real estate, or land owned for generations. For example, home prices in Grand Traverse County have increased roughly 47% since 2021, which can be good news for property owners, but it can also leave families with more of their wealth tied to real estate than they originally planned.
That doesn’t mean the asset is a problem. It means the family should understand what role it plays, what risks it creates, and what options exist before a decision becomes urgent.
Retirement changes the math
During the wealth-building years, concentration can make sense. Business owners reinvest in their company. Real estate investors hold properties they know well. Landowners may keep property for appreciation, income, or family reasons. Investors may hold a concentrated stock position because selling would create a tax bill.
As retirement approaches, the math changes. Reliable cash flow matters more. Taxes may become harder to absorb. Health care, family support, travel, charitable giving, and legacy goals may create new demands on liquid assets. A valuable asset doesn’t always meet those needs if it cannot be easily turned into usable cash.
One useful exercise is to estimate how much cash you might need in the next 5 to 10 years. Think about living expenses, taxes, major purchases, medical costs, helping family, or giving to charity. If those needs depend on selling a concentrated asset at the “right” time and price, the plan may need more flexibility.
A major asset requires a coordinated plan
A concentrated asset rarely affects only one part of the plan. Selling a business, property, or investment can create tax consequences, change cash flow, and affect what ultimately passes to the next generation.
A stronger review looks at four areas:
- Concentration: What percentage of your net worth is tied to this one asset?
- Liquidity: How much cash will you need over the next 5 to 10 years?
- Tax impact: What could happen if you sell, gift, transfer, or continue holding it?
- Family readiness: Who wants the asset, who can manage it, and who may need to be treated differently?
A CPA, an estate planning attorney, and a financial advisor each view the same asset through a different lens. The CPA focuses on tax issues. The estate planning attorney focuses on transfer and ownership. The financial advisor focuses on how the asset affects retirement income, liquidity, investment risk, and long-term family goals.
For families with meaningful wealth tied to a single asset, an experienced advisor can help connect the pieces, identify the tradeoffs, and coordinate the right professionals before a sale, transfer, health event, or family conflict forces the issue.
Emotional value can complicate the decision
For many families, the asset isn’t just financial.
A business may represent decades of work, employees, clients, and community ties. Land may carry family history. A cottage Up North may hold years of memories with children and grandchildren.
That emotional value matters, and it should be part of the conversation. It can also delay planning because no one wants to disappoint a parent, pressure the next generation, or admit that an important asset may create more complexity than expected.
Thoughtful planning helps clarify what role the asset should play going forward. The right answer may be to keep it, sell it, gradually transfer ownership, restructure how it’s held, or use other assets to create greater balance.
Build flexibility around a concentrated asset
As wealth grows, the question becomes less about what an asset is worth on paper and more about how much flexibility it actually provides.
For families with a business, property, land, or concentrated investment, the goal isn’t always to sell or reduce the asset. The goal is to understand the role it should play and to make key decisions before taxes, liquidity needs, family conflict, or timing pressures limit your options.
These conversations often start by looking beyond the asset itself and coordinating the broader plan around income needs, tax exposure, estate goals, family dynamics, and long-term flexibility.
For families whose wealth has become more complex, that kind of coordination can make the difference between reacting to a major decision and planning for it on your own terms.
If you’d like to learn more about how we help families navigate financial decisions with clarity and confidence, we invite you to explore our approach or reach out for a conversation.
