The Murdochs aren’t the only high-profile family enjoying a spell in court. When is the best time to agree on a successor?

It’s a story as old as the hills – certainly since Genesis – when Cain protested that he wasn’t his brother’s keeper. Luckily (for lawyers, at least), few turn to murder, these days, when trying to resolve family disputes.

The latest twist in the Murdoch family dispute may also be seen by the eyes of God but, thanks to the privacy ensured by the Nevada court system, most of us can’t tell exactly what is happening. It seems that Rupert, now nearly as old as some Old Testament patriarchs, would like to ensure that his eldest son Lachlan succeeds him at the wheel. 

Currently running News Corp. and Fox, Lachlan is closest to his father in political terms. Rupert seems to believe this will represent a smooth transition and ensure stability within the family trust. 

Would an independent, professional team support smoother sailing? Not if you ask the Landon family, themselves no strangers to British tabloids, thanks to Arthur Landon’s close friendship with Prince Harry

He wants to avoid the value destruction resulting from further in-fighting and ensure the SS Murdoch remains headed in his favoured direction – firmly to the starboard. Of course, it’s none of our business, however much the outcome might impact elections, economies or (as some of Lachlan’s siblings fear) the planet itself.

Would an independent, professional team support smoother sailing? Not if you ask the Landon family, themselves no strangers to British tabloids, thanks to Arthur Landon’s close friendship with Prince Harry. 

They have a colourful past – Arthur’s father, Timothy Landon, served in Oman and helped develop the Omani state, boosting and supporting his friend who became the Sultan, following a coup against his own father. With the new Sultan’s support Landon was regularly in Oman, orchestrating various deals in Africa and the Middle East, ultimately leaving a vast fortune to his family when he died.

The Landon family office is now suing the very managers they appointed to manage their private equity business, Landon Capital Partners who, it is contended by the Landon family, used their positions to solicit deals for a new, unrelated, firm. In turn, the defendants have launched several other counterclaims regarding a recent restructuring of LCP, seeking damages due to unpaid compensation. 

Arthur, the only son of Timothy Landon and a Hungarian Princess, finds himself in a Delaware courthouse may now regret not being as hands-on as his father was during his career.

Is it easier to appoint an outsider to run the family business itself, if not the family office?

Even this looks tricky. As recently reported in FamCap. The storied Campari drinks dynasty has struggled to find the right person. Mattel Fantacchiotti having resigned after only a few months in the CEO role, despite working in the business for a few years beforehand. 

An experienced executive in the drinks industry, Fantacchiotti, cited “personal reasons” and has been replaced by the CFO on an interim basis. The previous CEO was in place for 16 years, and stewarded the company through a sustained period of growth. Perhaps Fantacchiotti wasn’t the best “personality-fit”?

Looking for comment, the financial press turned to chairman Luca Garavoglia, a controlling family member, who provided the necessary market reassurance—horse’s mouth.

Some companies – Lego and Inditex among them – have successfully appointed stellar long-term management. 

Others, like Disney, which now has its amazingly successful previous CEO, Bob Iger, back in the driving seat after a couple of years of leadership by Bob Chapek, have stuttered recently.

Chapek himself had a long career at Disney following an early career in advertising, so what was the problem? Both Fantacchiotti and Chapek were veterans of their respective industries, yet they didn’t succeed.

There’s a terrific explanation of the ins and outs of the Disney transitions at CNBC. 

Is it best to go for steady Eddie, or the prodigal son (or daughter)? Iger is a famously charismatic leader. As you’ll know, he became a great friend of Steve Jobs, who, through the Pixar sale, became Disney’s most significant shareholder for many years. 

When he was unwell, Jobs advised Iger to retire before he got too old.

What of Apple itself, though? When Jobs anointed Tim Cook at Apple it surprised many observers.

Cook, despite having a reputation for being a focused, no-nonsense lieutenant, wasn’t seen as the visionary, maverick leader that Jobs was. 

There were a few in Cupertino that fitted that description, but despite this Jobs knew that Cook understood the business – from its supply chain to its stores – inside out, and Steve knew that Tim shared his own values. Since Cook has been at the helm, Apple has grown more than many would have imagined. Fewer fireworks but better EBIT.

Perhaps this is about something more than trust. It doesn’t seem to be just about knowing that the successor is capable, respected and diligent – it may be more about understanding that, at key points, they’d make the decisions that the business needs, however boring (or flamboyant) those decisions might be.

Famously, and very sensibly, this appointment was in place before Jobs’s death in 2011.

So are the Murdochs right to try to resolve this, however painfully, whilst Rupert is alive, after all?

It seems so. If everything isn’t crystal clear, things will go wrong. These cases can run and run.

There’s another family in the court at the moment. It seems the Hiltons aren’t the only family of hoteliers to hit the headlines whilst arguing among themselves – a generation of the Oberoi family – stepsisters, stepbrothers and a cousin – are in court in India following a dispute to do with a codicil to the father’s will. 

The Oberoi empire, encompassing hotels, other property, construction and investments, is worth over a billion dollars. One daughter, Anastasia, born after the original will of 1992, is fighting the rest of her generation over the validity of the codicil, which enshrines her inheritance.

PRS Oberoi died late last year, and the legal action, with an interim order in Anastasia’s favour, is only a few months old, so there’s no need to reference Jarndyce and Jarndyce. Yet.

The key seems to be to enshrine what values the family trust should espouse and find the right voice to fight for those whilst the executive team focuses on generating financial value day-to-day. You can solve for the latter whenever you need to, but if you forget the former, you’re adrift.