The men and women who make up the membership of The Heritage Institute (THI) come from many professional disciplines. What they share in common is their desire to provide a proven, credible process by which the individuals, families and organizations with whom they work can pass both their values and their valuables to the people they love and the causes they support. THI co-founders Perry Cochell, JD, and Rod Zeeb, JD, discovered in their own practices that if clients were to succeed at keeping their families, and the wealth they had accumulated, strong and healthy across generations, then the 'balance-sheet first' perspective of traditional planning was not enough to do the job. That discovery has been validated by recent studies that show that nine out of ten affluent families lose their wealth by the end of the third generation. Rod and Perry believe that most people want the end product of their planning to be a united family in which individual family members lead productive, meaningful lives.

They developed The Heritage Process as a supplement to traditional planning to help people achieve that objective. Through this unique process people discover and articulate their values, and develop a vision for the future that becomes the foundation for their planning. As the process was refined and experienced by thousands of families, it became clear that estate planning attorneys, CPA's, financial advisors, non-profit officers and other professionals who develop and implement planning could benefit from utilizing The Heritage Process in their own practices. To that end, Perry and Rod developed a comprehensive program of training, certification and ongoing support for professionals. Today, THI members across the country help their clients supplement traditional planning with a "family before fortune" process that offers the best hope for keeping the family, and its wealth, together across generations.