About

Welcome to The Legacy Forum™

The Legacy Forum™ has been working with UHNW individuals and families for over 35 years. Mark Demos, our President, started it in 1991 when he went to live in Seattle. Knowing even from a young age, people sought out his advice and help in tough personal and family issues. So knowing no one, he got a business card that simply Read: "Mark R Demos - Personal Advisor and Confident - 206-881-XXXX". There was no internet back then but there was no lack of people who needed his wisdom and ability to manage crisis.

Over the next many years through many iterations The Legacy Forum™ worked throughout the USA, Canada and internationally to help UHNW families, parents, spouses and others. Almost every client came by referral and included: industry leaders, corporation founders, inventors in Silicon Valley, Cabinet Secretary, US Ambassador, over 8 billionaires, multiple centimillionaires, all the while: playing and coaching cricket, raising three children, travelling to over 40 countries and finding the love of his life and business partner, Krisandra P. Demos, the CEO of our new and industry changing, Family People Office™.

The Family PEOPLE Office™

The Family PEOPLE Office™ - A Collaborative Approach to Total Family Wealth Management™

Frank and Joy Schoon. on their honeymoon in Cape Town, South Africa. Joy was little Bobby's little sister

You know your financial portfolio is being expertly managed and protected by your Wealth Manager or Family Office. You also know by first hand experience of by the experiences of other people that no matter how much money you have, there are situations that your wealth are no match for.

A question we ask when we interview prospective clients for The Foundations of Legacy™ program, is one that has to be answered for wealth and Legacy to endure. "Who would you be as an individual and family if you lost all your wealth?" If your wealth is measured by stocks, bonds, real estate, cash, private equity, digital assets, etc and your faith and standing in your world is sustained by them, your Legacy and personal wellbeing are at significant risk. We have observed the fear of loss often in our clients. If you and your family find their identity in and put their faith in the future being secure because of your financial portfolio, your Legacy will in all likelihood be an often stated statistic. Your Family Office will go first.

Here are some of the other questions we ask and discuss in our interviews for The Foundations of Legacy™:

What is your plan to build a Family Legacy that is about your spouse and children as people not as a short blurb in Forbes?
Which truly holds greater value in your life: the accumulation of financial wealth or the health and unity of your family?
Reflect on whether your Raison d'être for accumulating and protecting wealth is rooted in supporting your family's well-being and future, and in shielding them from risks that could threaten their happiness or security.
"What you value most in this life is where your heart will be". (Christ) Where is your heart.
What is your greatest hope for your marriage, your children's futures, your Family Legacy?

The Legacy Forum™ invites Family Offices and Wealth Managers to begin a conversation with us in our mission of delivering Total Family Wealth Management™ solutions to Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) individuals and families. Having served UHNW clients for over 35 years, The Legacy Forum™ is expanding our focus, and we are exploring how we can work in closer collaboration with Family Offices and Wealth Managers. There is no time to waste for those who work in Wealth Management. The Great Wealth Transfer has begun and it brings numerous emergent challenges, complexities, and opportunities. We believe that our approach can significantly achieve even greater success and positive outcomes for those who know great innovations conceived by wise minds and hearts that know this is about far more tha just a Financial Portfolio.

How Can The Family FINANCIAL Offices and Family PEOPLE Office™ Collaborate?

Fiduciary responsibilities require that Family Offices and Wealth Managers focus on their core financial expertise, just as we maintain our specialization in people-centered solutions. We recognize and respect these professional boundaries. There are clear advantages to working together in whatever ways best serve the long-term needs of our clients. By exploring ways to collaborate, we can help facilitate the creation of great and enduring Legacies for the families we serve.

Our Collaborative Process

At The Family PEOPLE Office™, we believe in working closely with Wealth Managers and Family Offices to provide the most comprehensive service for our mutual clients. Each professional’s role is clearly defined, yet by collaborating, we create greater efficiencies and achieve better outcomes for the families we serve.

Step 1: Initiating Collaboration

We only engage with Wealth Managers and Family Offices after receiving explicit client authorization.
Our team communicates the benefits of collaboration clearly, ensuring all parties understand the value we add.

Step 2: Family Meetings Support

We assist in organizing and facilitating Family Meetings, drawing on our experience and resources such as The Legacy Forum™.
We do not offer investment or wealth management advice; these remain the responsibility of your Wealth Manager or Family Office.
Our contribution centers on enhancing communication, addressing emotional concerns, and helping families clarify their values and goals.
Support is provided either in person or through thorough reports prepared in advance of meetings.

Step 3: Succession Planning

We leverage our deep understanding of each family’s dynamics, talents, and values to inform and facilitate effective succession planning.
Our team may recommend family members for roles in the family business or suggest alternate paths, always guided by our Talent DNA Profile™.

Step 4: Trust/ee Advisory

We regularly evaluate beneficiaries, considering factors like emotional readiness, recovery, education, and money management.
Our advice includes trust design, age-appropriate distributions, and trustee selection, using tools like our Positive Forensic Profile™ and A.I.D. Legacy Model.
This holistic view supports fiduciaries in making informed, responsible decisions.

Step 5: Human & Family Capital Risk Management

We provide ongoing well-being assessments and crisis management, similar to how Wealth Managers protect financial capital.

Clients have continuous access to resources that protect their legacy, including expert advice for life transitions or unexpected events.
Our Legacy Advisors follow strict ethical standards and, with client permission, may consult internal or external experts for complex matters.

Key Principles

Clear roles: We do not provide investment advice; our focus is on human and family capital.
Client authorization is required for all collaboration.
All our services are designed to complement and enhance—not replace—the specialist work of your Wealth Manager or Family Office.

The Legacy Forum’s™ Invitation

We warmly invite Family Offices and Wealth Managers who recognize the value of this collaborative model to connect with us. We understand this is a new approach and anticipate you may have questions about collaboration and cooperation. We have worked with enough Family Offices and Wealth Managers to know each is as unique as the families they serve. Whatever ideas, questions or collaborative options you can think up, we will discuss, we are committed to making time for these important discussions.

We also welcome conversations with UHNW individuals and families directly, who appreciate that their future Legacies can best be realized when their FFO™ and FPO™ work in concert, prioritizing their best interests through unified efforts.

Please contact Mark Demos our President and Co-Founder for further discussion.

“Family represents the greatest source of enjoyment in life and is the motivator for financial success and security. While more than six in ten wealthy parents say it is important to leave an inheritance to the next generation, only one in five agree strongly that their children will be prepared to handle the wealth they receive.”

The annual survey of high-net worth and ultra-high-net-worth Americans 2015 U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth*

Who will this child become? What possibilities lie ahead? What lives will he change? What great things might he achieve? What is the value of this one child's life? How will he respond to failures? How will he discover and use his Talents? What Vrtues will define his life?

Nothing is certain in life. This is Robert "Bobby" Chalmers, with Mark Demos's grandmother, Henrietta Chalmers. Bobby's short life ended before his third birthday. He was Robert and Henrietta's first child and named after his father. They had three more children, Joy, Gerald and Ruth, Mark's mother. Joy married Frank Schoon, whose photograph is to the left, taken while on their honeymoon to Cape Town in South Africa. Mark's middle name is Robet, named after his grandfather and baby uncle Bobby. Learning about the history of my family has given me a beautiful picture of my family Legacy and has silently influenced me in ways I was not aware of. It has been a wonderful endeavor and I have such a deep appreciation for who came before me. History matters and is the foundation on which Legacy is built.

The Importance of Family Collaboration in Legacy Planning

It is a fundamental truth that the fate of the Family Office is closely tied to that of the family itself. When The Legacy Forum's™ Family PEOPLE Office™ and Family Financial Office™ collaborate, Total Family Wealth Management™ becomes possible. The longevity of the Family Office is inseparable from the life and success of the family. Historically, only 30% of Family Offices survive into the second generation, and a mere 5% last into the third or fourth. Through our collaborative efforts, we can change this narrative and write the multi-generational story.

Human Capital: The Cornerstone of Stability

At The Legacy Forum™, we firmly believe that recognizing Human Capital as equal to—or even more valuable than—the management of Financial Wealth is essential. Without this balance, both the family and its future are placed at significant risk, undermining long-term stability. The mission of the Family Office must be rooted in serving the family, supporting its ability to thrive, and building lives that endure through generations.

Supporting Families in Their Aspirations

We understand that many families wish to create and leave a legacy they can be proud of. The Legacy Forum™, alongside our trusted Advisors, is dedicated to helping you realize this ambition. Our approach includes comprehensive positive evaluations and assessments, utilizing the Positive Forensic Profiling™ system described in "The DNA Code – The Forensics of Purpose, Passion and Performance." This system incorporates principles from Positive and Strengths Psychology, the science of human happiness, as well as coaching and psychotherapy.