Do I have to take over the family business just because of birth order or expectation?

No. The healthier model is to design succession instead of inheriting it. Kris Kluver, in The Dysfunctional Family Office, frames this directly. The traditional approach assigns roles based on birth order, gender, or family expectation. The result is heirs in roles that don't fit them, succession that suppresses individual identity, and businesses run by reluctant operators. The alternative is to design. Each family member identifies what they actually want and what they're actually good at. The family then designs roles around the people, not the other way around. Kris Kluver tells the story of a Middle Eastern energy family where the oldest son couldn't breathe in the family business. The family supported him to build an international shipping company, which the family then invested in. Both the son and the family thrived. That's what's possible when people stop inheriting roles and start designing them. Chris Richardson works with rising generation members on this design at thethirtyadvisors.com.