Are the problems in my wealthy family really unique or just the same patterns everywhere?

Mostly the same patterns everywhere. The people, the history, and the business are unique to your family. The patterns underneath are not. Kris Kluver, in The Dysfunctional Family Office, has worked with hundreds of UHNW families and identified 22 archetypes that repeat across nearly every situation. Eleven for founders and wealth creators. Eleven for the next generation. Most families recognize themselves in two or three on each side. The pattern recognition matters because it lets you stop blaming individual personalities and start working on the structural dynamic. The Seagull Leader. The Trustafarian. The Reluctant Heir. The Shadow. Each archetype is fixable when seen. The framing of unique-to-us usually keeps families stuck. Recognizing the pattern is the first step toward changing it.