The Owner’s Second Balance
Sheet Reader Toolkit
THE OFFICIAL READER BONUS
You’ve Read The Book. Now Put It To Work.
The companion toolkit for The Owner’s Second Balance Sheet turns the book’s ideas into decisions you can make this quarter, with checklists, self-assessments, and reference guides created for business owners. Six resources. Free for readers.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Every Owner Has Two Balance Sheets
The Premise
The first balance sheet tracks what you own and owe. The second asks whether the first can survive, examining personal guarantees, entity structure, trust alignment, insurance sufficiency, concentration risk, succession readiness, family governance, and personal liquidity.
The Argument
The Second Balance Sheet often goes unmanaged because no one coordinates the experts. The book makes the case for a conductor who owns the whole picture and gives owners practical tools for evaluating strategies, identifying gaps, and coordinating their professional advisors.
Who It Is For
The book is written for high-income business owners, generally those with $1 million or more in adjusted gross income, and the CPAs and attorneys who advise them. It provides an educational framework for coordination rather than a do-it-yourself planning manual.
INCLUDED WITH THE BOOK
Six Tools To Turn Insight Into Action
Each resource gives you a practical way to examine, organize, or strengthen part of your Second Balance Sheet.
01
The Ten Questions Self-Assessment
Ten diagnostic questions every owner should be able to answer, from personal liquidity and personal guarantees to buy-sell currency and succession readiness. Score each area from 1 to 5 to see where your structure is strong and where it may be exposed.
Best For:
Owners who want a fast, honest read on their Second Balance Sheet in fifteen minutes.
02
The Chapter-by-Chapter Action Checklist
One concrete action drawn from every chapter of the book, seventeen in all. Assign an owner, set a target date, and turn what you read into ninety days of measurable progress. No new engagement is required.
Best For:
Readers who want the book to end in action, not only insight.
03
The Owner’s Annual Review Checklist
Use the structure review from Chapter 12 to revisit personal guarantees, entity structure, trust alignment, and other important areas each year. Clear annual triggers help prevent your financial architecture from quietly drifting out of date.
Best For:
Owners who want to keep their architecture current as their business and family change.
04
The Stewardship Commission
Create a written record of what your wealth is for, including your family’s identity, values, and intentions. This short, guided template helps preserve the meaning behind the money alongside the assets themselves.
Best For:
Families who want the next generation to inherit purpose, not just assets.
05
Terms Worth Knowing
Use this plain-language glossary to understand technical terms from the book, including QoE, DSUE, and profits interests. Terms are organized by theme so you can follow planning conversations and understand what your advisors are discussing.
Best For:
Owners who are tired of nodding along to acronyms they were never taught.
06
Borrowed From The Ultra-Wealthy
Flagship Bonus
A companion guide to coordinated strategies that high-income owners are rarely offered across tax architecture, estate and wealth transfer, asset protection, and more. Each entry explains what the strategy is, how it works, who it may fit, who it may not fit, and the coordination it requires.
Best For:
Owners who suspect there is a playbook the ultra-wealthy use that they have simply never been shown.
READER ACCESS
Unlock All Six Resources
Enter the password printed in your book and your email to unlock every download. We will also email you a copy for easy reference.
No purchase required No obligation Free for readers
GO BEYOND THE BOOK
Want Your Second Balance Sheet Diagnosed For You?
The book shows you where gaps tend to hide. A complimentary TrueWealth Second Balance Sheet Diagnostic maps yours across the categories that influence whether what you have built can survive and transfer. No charge, no obligation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Get More From The Book And Toolkit
Find out what is included, who the resources are designed for, and how to unlock your reader bonuses.
The Owner’s Second Balance Sheet is Paul Marks’ book about how high-income business owners can protect, convert, and transfer the wealth tied to their business. It examines the Second Balance Sheet that traditional planning often overlooks and introduces a framework for coordinating the professionals and strategies involved.
The toolkit includes six resources: the Ten Questions Self-Assessment, Chapter-by-Chapter Action Checklist, Owner’s Annual Review Checklist, Stewardship Commission, Terms Worth Knowing, and the Borrowed From The Ultra-Wealthy companion guide.
Yes, all six resources are free reader bonuses, and you do not have to hire TrueWealth to use them. If you would like TrueWealth to conduct a Second Balance Sheet Diagnostic for you, that is a separate and entirely optional next step.
Enter the password printed in your copy of the book along with your name and email on this page. The form will unlock all six downloads, and we will also email you a copy of the toolkit.
The book and toolkit are designed for high-income business owners, generally those with $1 million or more in adjusted gross income, as well as the CPAs and attorneys who advise them. They provide an educational framework for coordination rather than a do-it-yourself planning manual.
Who We Work With
We help clients navigate the financial decisions that come with greater responsibility and complexity.
Our Process
See how we move from discovery and analysis to recommendations, implementation, and ongoing review.
Our Team
Meet the advisors and professionals who bring financial planning, business-owner perspective, and operational support to every client relationship.