Security for UHNW Family Offices: A 30-Day Plan

Posted On:Oct 19, 2026
Posted By:Michael Braun

Security for UHNW family offices: a 30-day plan that starts this week

Security for UHNW family offices often begins with a long conversation and a short attention span. A family hears about an incident, the office commissions a review, and months later the report sits in a drawer while the household runs exactly as it did before. What families need instead is a plan that produces visible changes within a month, with names, dates and decisions attached. Two events in the past two weeks show why.

On October 6, 2026, at about 3:30 a.m., three masked men armed with guns and knives forced their way into the home of a 34-year-old Turkish businessman in Pattaya, Thailand. Türkiye Today reported on October 12, citing the Turkish daily Sabah, that the attackers handcuffed and assaulted him and his housekeeper, forced him to hand over about $824,000 in cryptocurrency and took cash, five Rolex watches and four phones. According to the report, the gang had rented a property near his residence and monitored his movements before the robbery. Thai police identified five Chinese nationals through camera footage and an abandoned getaway vehicle, but found that they had already left the country through Don Mueang Airport within six hours.

Closer to home, the Bryson Fire broke out shortly before 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, near Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu. FOX 11 Los Angeles reported that evacuation orders covered parts of Zuma and Trancas canyons, that warnings stretched toward Leo Carrillo State Beach, that more than 7,000 structures were threatened, with no homes damaged at the time of its update, and that Southern California Edison cut power across central and western Malibu as a precaution, leaving tens of thousands of customers without electricity. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna warned anyone thinking of taking advantage of evacuated homes or homes without power that they would likely run into deputies who were not in uniform. By the evening of October 17, the City of Malibu reported that the fire was 61 percent contained at 146.2 acres, that evacuation warnings had been lifted, roads reopened and power restored to all circuits in the city.

One event was a planned crime, one a natural hazard. Both tested the same things: whether a household knew who was watching it, whether its systems worked when the power went off, whether its people knew what to do at 3:30 in the morning or with an evacuation warning on their phones. Those are the things a 30-day plan should fix.

This article expands the 30-day plan section of our 2026 guide to high net worth security into a full working plan for family offices. If you are still choosing a provider, our article on what separates recommended HNW security teams covers that step, and our piece on what high net worth security services include explains the full program. Here I assume the decision has been made to act, and I set out what the family office should do, week by week, in the first month.

Family office desk with a security plan binder, wall calendar and estate floor plan at dusk, hills beyond the window

Key takeaways

A 30-day plan should produce decisions and changes, not just a report. Every item needs an owner and a date.
Week one is about seeing the family the way an outsider would: people, properties, routines, online exposure and the neighbourhood, including who rents nearby.
Week two fixes the home basics: perimeter, alarm discipline, cameras, doors, staff access and night routines.
Week three writes the procedures: verification, schedules, visitors, incident reporting, police contacts and continuity when power and phones fail.
Week four tests everything with tabletop exercises and drills, then sets the 12-month plan and budget.
In Pattaya, the attackers reportedly watched from a rented property nearby. In Malibu, a power shutoff tested every gate, camera and phone. A good first month prepares for both kinds of day.
Security for UHNW family offices works when one person owns the plan and the principal supports it visibly.

Two events, two lessons for the first month

Pattaya: watched from a rented house nearby

The Pattaya robbery, as reported, has the features I see in many planned home invasions. The attackers did their reconnaissance in advance, from a property they rented near the target’s home. They chose the early hours, when the household was asleep and the street was empty. They came armed, restrained the people inside and focused on what they wanted: digital assets that could be transferred on the spot, plus watches, cash and phones. And they had an exit planned, leaving the country within hours.

For a family office, the lesson is not about cryptocurrency. It is about visibility. Someone had been watching the house, close enough to learn the routine, for long enough to plan around it, and the reports say nothing about anyone noticing. The first week of any security plan should ask: who could be watching us, from where, and would we know?

Malibu: a fire, a power shutoff and undercover deputies

According to FOX 11, no homes were damaged in the Bryson Fire, which is a credit to the firefighters. But for the households in its path, it was a live test of continuity. Evacuation warnings and orders came in the late afternoon and evening. Power went off across large parts of Malibu. The city brought in mobile cell towers to keep communications working and put generators on traffic signals. The sheriff publicly warned would-be looters away from evacuated and powerless homes.

For a family office, the questions are practical. When the power went off, did the gates open, stay closed or fail? Did the cameras keep recording, and for how long? Could the household reach the security team if mobile service failed? Did staff know whether to stay or leave? Did anyone know which family members were home? Those questions are the core of week three of the plan, and they are much easier to answer before the next fire than during it. We covered Malibu specifically in our article on Malibu estate security when access fails.

Before day one: who owns the plan

The 30 days start when four decisions have been made.

A sponsor in the family. One family member, usually the principal or a spouse, who supports the plan visibly. Security changes that the family ignores do not last. When the principal follows the new rules, everyone else does too.

An owner in the family office. One person who owns the plan day to day: tracks the items, chases the owners and reports progress. In a small office this may be the chief of staff or the head of operations. It should not be a committee.

A security lead. The person responsible for the professional work: assessments, recommendations, procedures and training. This may be an in-house director of security or the lead from an outside provider. In California, anyone providing security services for hire must be properly licensed; MSB Protection holds California Private Patrol Operator license PPO #122329, and any provider you use should be able to show you theirs.

A budget authority. Someone who can approve spending quickly. Many first-month fixes are inexpensive, but a plan that has to wait three weeks for approval of a camera repair is not a 30-day plan.

If something has already happened. Some families start this plan after an incident: a break-in, a threat, a stranger at the gate, a story in the press. In that case, the first 48 hours belong to the immediate response: the family’s safety, the police report, preserving evidence and any temporary protection that is needed. The 30-day plan starts once that immediate period is under control, and the incident becomes the first item in the exposure map. It is a mistake to let the urgency of the incident replace the plan, because the incident usually reveals one weakness and the plan finds the others.

The plan itself should be confidential. The list of weaknesses in a family’s security is a valuable document. It should be shared on a need-to-know basis, stored securely and kept out of email chains with vendors.

Week one (days 1 to 7): see what others see

The first week is about information. Before anyone buys a camera or hires an officer, the family office should understand what the family looks like from the outside: who the people are, where they live and go, what is public about them and who might be paying attention.

Days 1 and 2: the inventory

Start with a simple inventory, kept in one confidential document:

People. Every family member who might be targeted, including adult children, elderly parents and partners. For each, where they live, where they work or study and how they travel.
Properties. Every residence, with who lives there, how often it is occupied, what security it has and who has keys and codes.
Vehicles and drivers. Which cars, who drives them, where they are parked and who knows their plates.
Staff and vendors. Everyone with access to a home, a vehicle, the calendar or family information, including contractors and services that come regularly.
Routines. The regular places and times in each person’s week: offices, schools, gyms, clubs, places of worship.
Known concerns. Any past incident, threat, dispute, stalker, former employee or legal matter that might create risk.

Families are often surprised by how long this list is, and by how many people have access to parts of it. That is the point. You cannot protect what you have not listed.

Days 3 and 4: the exposure review

Next, look at what is public. Search for each family member’s name with their city and with the addresses of their homes. Check what property records show, which social media accounts exist, what has been posted by the family, by friends, by schools and by staff, and whether any address or routine can be pieced together from what is available. Check what the company or foundation publishes about the principal’s schedule and appearances.

This review is about patterns, not individual posts. A photograph of a gate, a tagged gym, a school mentioned in a profile and a regular Sunday brunch posted by a friend may each be harmless. Together they can map a family’s week. Our articles on threats and home address exposure and on schedule leaks cover what to look for.

Days 5 to 7: the neighbourhood and the approaches

The Pattaya case is a reminder that people who plan an attack want somewhere to watch from. In the last days of the first week, the security lead should walk and drive the area around each occupied residence and ask simple questions. Which houses overlook the property? Are any of them short-term rentals, vacant or recently sold? Where could a car park for hours without drawing attention? Which approaches lead to the gate, the side entrances and the back of the property? What is visible from the street at night?

I also ask staff a question that is often overlooked: have you noticed anything unusual in the past few months? A car that keeps appearing. A neighbour’s guest who asks questions. A delivery driver who lingers. Staff see the property every day and often notice things they never report because nobody asked.

Short-term rentals and vacant houses nearby

A property that changes occupants every few days is a natural place for someone to watch from without being noticed, which is reportedly what happened in Pattaya. I do not suggest treating every holiday rental as a threat. I do suggest that the security lead knows which nearby properties are rentals or vacant, that residential officers or patrols note unusual activity at them, and that a family with a credible concern asks the police or the community’s security for help in keeping an eye on them. In gated communities, the association’s own security often knows which homes are rented and when, and is usually willing to share concerns.

What week one produces

By day 7, the family office should have a confidential exposure map: the list of people, properties, routines and public information, with the largest exposures highlighted and the neighbourhood observations attached. That map drives everything else. If it is not done, the rest of the plan is guesswork.

Week two (days 8 to 14): fix the home basics

Week two turns to the homes, starting with the one where the family spends the majority of its nights. The aim is not a complete redesign. It is to fix the basics that make the biggest difference and can be done quickly.

The perimeter walk

The security lead walks the perimeter of each occupied residence, by day and again after dark. Gates, fences, walls, hedges, side entrances, service doors, garage doors, pool gates, roof access and windows that can be reached from the ground. Each weakness gets a line on the list: what it is, how to fix it, who will do it and by when. Many fixes are simple: a lock replaced, a gate adjusted so it closes fully, a ladder stored away, a light added at a side entrance, a hedge trimmed so a camera can see.

Alarms and their discipline

Alarm systems fail more often because of habits than because of technology. In week two, I want to know whether the alarm is set at night, whether all zones are armed, whether there are zones that have been bypassed for months because of a faulty sensor, who has codes, whether codes are shared, and what happens when the alarm goes off: who is called, in what order, and how quickly someone responds. A 3:30 a.m. entry like the one in Pattaya is precisely the moment when a set alarm, a monitored perimeter and a planned response matter.

Cameras and recording

Check that every camera works, covers what it is supposed to cover and records at a useful quality. Check how long recordings are kept and who can access them. Check whether anyone watches the cameras live, and whether alerts reach a person who can act. Check what happens when the power fails, which week three will test.

Doors, access and night routines

Review who has keys, fobs and codes, and remove anyone who no longer needs them, including former staff and contractors. Set a simple night routine: who checks the doors and windows, who sets the alarm, which lights stay on, where phones are kept. Make sure the family knows the safe room or safe area and how to reach it. Our articles on home security for high net worth individuals after Pucol and on safe room planning go into detail.

Vehicles and the driveway

Week two should also cover the vehicles at each home: where they are parked overnight, whether keys and fobs are stored away from the doors, whether garage doors can be opened from outside with a code that many people know, and whether the driveway can be seen from the street. A vehicle parked in the open with a valuable fob hanging by the kitchen door is an invitation. Moving the fobs, closing the garage and setting the garage door code to something new are among the quickest fixes of the month.

The other properties

For second homes and properties that are often empty, week two should at least confirm that alarms are set and monitored, that someone checks the property regularly and that the family office knows the state of each home. Our post on empty and second homes explains why they need their own standard.

What week two produces

By day 14, the family office should have a home fixes list for each property, with owners and dates, and many of the simple fixes already done. The bigger items, such as a new camera system, a gate replacement or residential officers, go into the 12-month plan in week four.

Week three (days 15 to 21): set the procedures

Week three is about the rules that keep the household safe on ordinary days and difficult ones. Procedures should be short, written in plain language and known by the people who need them. Two pages that everyone has read are worth more than fifty pages that nobody has opened.

Verification and authority

Write down who can authorize what: payments, travel changes, access to the homes, changes to the security posture. Set a verification rule for any urgent request involving money or a family member’s safety: the request is confirmed through a separate, known channel before anyone acts. This is where cyber fraud and physical security meet. A fake emergency call is often the first step toward a real one. Our article on family office authority control covers the principles.

Schedules and travel

Decide who sees the principal’s calendar and the family’s travel plans, and reduce that list. Set a rule that travel is booked through a defined process, that itineraries are shared on a need-to-know basis and that family members post about trips after they return, not during.

Visitors, vendors and deliveries

Set a visitor procedure for each home: who can approve a visitor, how they are expected, where deliveries go, how contractors are supervised and how anyone claiming authority, such as police, utilities or inspectors, is verified before the gate opens. Our posts on vendor access control and on impersonators at the door provide detail.

Incident reporting and police contacts

Set one reporting path for anything unusual: staff report to one person, who logs it and decides whether to escalate. Record the contacts for the local police station, the alarm company and the security team. Decide who calls the police and who meets them. Our article on police liaison explains how to build that relationship.

Continuity: when power and phones fail

This is where the Bryson Fire becomes a checklist. For each home, find out what happens when the power goes off. Does the gate fail open or closed, and can someone open it manually? Do the cameras and alarm have backup power, and for how long? Does the alarm still reach the monitoring center without internet? How will the household reach the security team if mobile service is disrupted? Who decides that the family should leave, and where do they go? Which staff stay, and which go home? Malibu deployed mobile cell towers during the fire; a household should not depend on that. A battery radio, a satellite messenger or a second carrier can make the difference.

Statements and the media

Decide in advance who speaks for the family if something happens, whether a break-in, a threat, an evacuation or a story in the press. That person should be the sole voice, everyone else should know to say nothing, and staff should be told never to comment to reporters or on social media. A single, calm statement through the family office is far better than a series of improvised remarks at the gate.

What week three produces

By day 21, the family office should have a short procedures pack: authority and verification, schedules and travel, visitors and vendors, incident reporting, police contacts and continuity. Each procedure should name who does what. Staff should have been briefed on the parts that concern them.

Week four (days 22 to 30): practice and plan ahead

The last week tests what the first three built, and turns the remaining work into a plan for the year. It is also the week families are tempted to skip, because by now the obvious fixes are done and everyone feels better. Do not skip it. A plan that has never been tested is a hope.

Tabletop exercises

A tabletop exercise is a structured conversation: the security lead describes a situation step by step, and the people who would handle it say what they would do. It takes an hour or two, needs no equipment and reveals gaps quickly. In the first month, I run three or four, chosen from the family’s real exposures. For many families in Southern California, two of them follow directly from this month’s news:

A 3:30 a.m. entry. Armed people are inside the house. Who raises the alarm? Where does the family go? Who calls the police and what do they say? What does the staff member who lives on site do? What happens after the intruders leave?
A wildfire warning with the power off. An evacuation warning arrives at 5 p.m. and the power has been shut off. The principal is travelling. Who decides whether the family leaves? How do you open the gate? Who checks that everyone is out? Who tells the security team, and how, if mobile service is patchy?
A threat to a family member. A message arrives naming a child and a school. Who sees it first? Who decides what to do? Who calls the school and the police?
An urgent call about the principal. Someone calls the office claiming the principal has been detained abroad and money is needed immediately. What does the verification rule require?

Drills with staff

Some things should be practised physically: setting and disarming the alarm, opening the gate manually, reaching the safe room, using the radio or satellite messenger, running the call tree. Short drills with household staff, done at different times of day, show whether the procedures from week three actually work. They also build confidence. Staff who have practised are calmer when it matters.

Testing the systems

Test the alarm with the monitoring center. Test the backup power by switching off the mains, with the security lead watching what fails. Test camera recordings by retrieving footage from a specific time. Test the call tree by calling everyone on it. Each test should be scheduled, recorded and followed up.

Deciding the level of protection

By the end of the month, the family office has enough information to make the larger decisions. Does the main residence need residential security officers, and if so, at what hours? Does the principal need executive protection for travel or public appearances? Do family members need close protection at certain times? Does the household need a monitored command center, or better technology at the homes? Those decisions should come from the exposure map and the exercises, not from a sales conversation.

The 12-month plan

Week four ends with a written 12-month plan: the larger fixes and investments, the protection decisions, the training schedule, the dates of the next exercises and a review every quarter. Each item has an owner, a date and a budget line. That document is what turns a month of activity into a program.

A 30-day calendar at a glance

Before day 1: sponsor, owner, security lead and budget authority named; plan kept confidential.
Days 1 and 2: inventory of people, properties, vehicles, staff, vendors, routines and concerns.
Days 3 and 4: exposure review of public and online information.
Days 5 to 7: neighbourhood and approach review; staff asked what they have noticed; exposure map delivered.
Days 8 to 14: perimeter walks, alarm discipline, cameras, access control, night routines, other properties; home fixes list delivered and simple fixes completed.
Days 15 to 21: procedures for authority and verification, schedules and travel, visitors and vendors, incidents and police, continuity; staff briefed.
Days 22 to 30: tabletop exercises, staff drills, system tests, protection decisions and the 12-month plan.

What the family office can do without outside help

A great deal of the first month can be done by a capable family office with modest outside support. The inventory, much of the exposure review, the access-code clean-up, the visitor procedure, the verification rule, the call tree and the simple fixes are all within reach of an organized chief of staff or operations lead.

Family office high net worth individuals security works when the office treats security as part of operations rather than a separate world. The same discipline that keeps the family’s finances, properties and staff organized can keep the security plan moving. What the office usually lacks is the professional eye: knowing what an attacker looks for, which weaknesses matter and which do not, and how procedures hold up under stress.

Where outside high net worth security services add value

High net worth security services add real value where judgment and experience matter: the physical assessment of homes and routines, the protective intelligence work that watches for people paying attention to the family, the design of procedures that hold up when people are frightened, the training and the exercises, and the decisions about officers and close protection.

When you choose a provider for this work, ask how they would run the first 30 days. A good answer will look something like the plan above, adapted to your family. Recommended HNW security teams will want to see your homes, meet your staff, understand your routines and test their recommendations before they propose a long contract. They will also tell you which things you do not need.

At MSB Protection, our in-house research and development team works on methods and tools to counter threats to UHNW clients, including how we map a family’s exposure in the first week and how we test homes during power and communications failures. Our security assessment is usually the starting point, and our article on the UHNW security audit for Southern California estates describes what that involves locally.

Private security for high net worth family members during the first month

The plan covers the whole family, not just the principal. In practice, I see four groups that need specific attention in the first month.

Spouses and partners, who often have their own routines, offices and public profiles, and who may be more exposed than the principal because nobody has looked at their week.

Children, whose schools, activities and online lives create predictable patterns. The school run and the school’s own procedures should be reviewed in the first month. Our article on school run security covers the details.

Elderly parents, who may live alone, answer the door to anyone and be targeted precisely because they are less protected. Our post on close protection for UHNW families with elderly parents explains why.

Adult children, who may live independently, travel widely and share more online than their parents would like.

Private security for high net worth family members should be proportionate. Few family members need a protector. Everyone needs to be in the inventory, in the exposure review and in the call tree.

Close protection for UHNW families: when the plan says yes

Sometimes the first month shows that close protection is needed: a credible threat, a high-profile role, a pattern of being watched, frequent travel to higher-risk places or a level of public exposure that the home alone cannot absorb. When that happens, close protection for UHNW families should be introduced carefully. The protectors should be chosen for the family, briefed on the exposure map, trained on the procedures from week three and introduced to the household in a way that respects its privacy. Our article on close protection for UHNW families in Los Angeles describes how that works day to day.

Personal security for high networth individuals: what the principal commits to

The principal’s own habits are part of the plan. In the first month, I ask principals to commit to a few things: follow the verification rule even when it is inconvenient, keep the calendar on a need-to-know basis, avoid posting locations in real time, set the alarm at night, vary routines where possible and tell the security lead about anything unusual, including business disputes and uncomfortable encounters. Personal security for high networth individuals depends on those small choices more than on any technology.

The principal’s support also signals to everyone else that the plan matters. When staff see the principal waiting at the gate while a visitor is verified, they understand that the rule applies to everyone.

Adapting the plan to the size of the family

The 30-day structure works for very different families, but the weight shifts. A family with one main residence, a small office and a principal who rarely appears in public will spend the bulk of the month on the home, the staff and the procedures. The plan may be finished early, and the 12-month plan may be short.

A family with several residences in different countries, a large office, frequent travel and a principal with a public role will find that the inventory alone takes the first week and the exposure review uncovers more than expected. For that family, the first 30 days may cover the main residence and the principal fully, with the other homes and family members scheduled into the following months. That is fine, provided the order is chosen deliberately, starting with the largest exposures, and not simply by whichever property is easiest to visit.

Either way, the discipline is the same: one owner, written items with dates, visible changes, tests and a plan for what comes next.

What the first month costs

I am often asked what a first month like this costs. The honest answer is that it depends on what the month uncovers, and I am not going to quote numbers without seeing a family’s homes and routines. What I can say is where the money tends to go.

The inventory, the exposure review, the procedures, the briefings and the tabletop exercises cost time more than money. The simple home fixes, such as locks, lighting, gate adjustments and access code changes, are usually modest. The professional assessment is a defined piece of work. The larger costs, such as new camera systems, perimeter detection, residential officers, a command center or close protection, are decisions for the 12-month plan, made on the evidence of the first month rather than on fear or a sales pitch.

Home security for high net worth individuals is one of those areas where spending more does not automatically mean being safer. A household with an expensive system that nobody arms at night is less protected than a household with a modest system and good habits. The first month is designed to show where money will make a difference and where it will not.

Common mistakes in the first month

Starting with equipment. Buying cameras before understanding the exposure usually means buying the wrong cameras.
A plan with no owner. If nobody chases the items, they stop at week two.
Too much paper. Long procedures nobody reads are worse than short ones everyone knows.
Leaving family members out. Spouses, children, parents and adult children are often the exposed part of the family.
Skipping the tests. Plans that have not been exercised fail in predictable ways.
Sharing the plan too widely. The list of a family’s weaknesses is itself a risk.
Treating day 30 as the end. The first month is the start of a program, not a project with a finish line.

Household staff in the first 30 days

In Pattaya, according to the report, the housekeeper was handcuffed and assaulted alongside her employer. Staff are part of the household’s risk and part of its protection, and the first month should treat them that way.

Staff should be briefed early, in week one, so they understand why things are changing and what is expected of them. They should be told that the security plan exists to protect them as well as the family. They should be asked what they have noticed, which often produces some of the sharpest observations of the whole month. And they should be reassured that reporting something unusual will never get them into trouble.

Live-in staff need particular attention. They are in the house at 3:30 a.m. when the family may be away. They need to know how to raise the alarm, where to go, how to reach the security team and what not to do: not to confront intruders, not to open the door to someone claiming to be police without verification, and not to discuss the family’s movements with anyone outside. Their own rooms should be part of the perimeter review.

Staff confidentiality should also be addressed, gently. Many leaks of schedules, addresses and routines come from staff talking innocently with friends, other staff or vendors, or posting from the workplace. A short conversation about what can and cannot be shared, backed by the family’s own example, works better than a long agreement that nobody remembers.

When valuables can be moved from the house

The Pattaya attackers reportedly forced their victim to transfer cryptocurrency on the spot. I am not writing about digital asset security here, which is a separate discipline, but the physical lesson is relevant for any family whose wealth can be moved from a phone or a laptop at home. If a large transfer can be made from inside the house, people who know that have a reason to come inside.

In the first month, the family office should ask whether large transfers of any kind can be made from the residence without delay or a second approver. Where they can, the controls should be changed so that a person under duress cannot move significant value quickly, and that fact should be part of how the family talks about its arrangements. Our article on personal security for high networth individuals in crypto discusses the physical side of digital wealth in more depth.

Talking to the family about the plan

Security plans fail when the family feels they are being imposed. In the first month, how the plan is explained matters as much as what it contains. I encourage the sponsor in the family to explain the changes at home, simply and without alarm: we are making some sensible changes, here is what they mean for you, and here is who to talk to if something feels wrong.

Children should hear an age-appropriate version. Younger children need to know a few rules and a trusted adult to tell. Teenagers should understand why location sharing and real-time posting matter, ideally from a conversation rather than a lecture. Elderly parents should be involved in decisions about their own homes and routines.

The aim is a household that feels normal, with a few new habits. When a plan makes the family feel watched or frightened, it is usually a sign that the security is out of proportion to the risk or that it has been explained badly.

Measuring progress

A 30-day plan should be measured, and the measures should be simple. How many items on the fixes list are closed? Have all access codes been reviewed? Is the alarm set every night, according to the system logs? How long did it take the monitoring center to call back during the test? Did every staff member take part in a drill? How many unusual observations were reported, and were they followed up?

Those numbers tell the sponsor and the family office whether the plan is real. They also become the baseline for the quarterly reviews that follow. Security for UHNW family offices improves fastest when progress is visible.

After day 30

After the first month, the work becomes routine: quarterly reviews of the exposure map, regular exercises, updates when the family’s life changes, and quick reviews after any incident in the household or in the news that resembles the family’s risks. Home security for high net worth individuals, personal protection, travel and family office procedures should all be reviewed together at least once a year.

Events like Pattaya and the Bryson Fire are useful prompts. When something happens to a family in similar circumstances, the family office should ask: could that happen to us, and would our plan handle it? If the answer is unclear, that is the next exercise.

Frequently asked questions

What is security for UHNW family offices?

It is the set of people, procedures and protections that a family office uses to keep the family, its homes, its staff and its information safe. It covers physical security at the homes, protection for family members, procedures for verification and schedules, and coordination with outside security providers and police.

What should a family office do in the first 30 days of a security plan?

Week one, build the inventory and exposure map. Week two, fix the home basics. Week three, write the procedures, including continuity when power and phones fail. Week four, test everything with exercises and drills and set the 12-month plan.

Do we need outside high net worth security services for a 30-day plan?

Much of the work can be done by the family office. Outside professionals add value in the physical assessment, protective intelligence, procedure design, training, exercises and decisions about officers and close protection.

How do recommended HNW security teams handle the first month?

They assess homes and routines in person, map the family’s exposure, test their recommendations with the household and staff, and propose protection that matches the family’s real risks, including telling you what you do not need.

How does family office high net worth individuals security prepare for power outages?

By testing each home with the power off: gates, cameras, alarms, monitoring and communications. The family office should know what fails, how long backup systems last, how to open gates manually and how the household will reach the security team if mobile service is disrupted.

Can private security for high net worth family members wait until after the 30 days?

Some of it can, but not the basics. Every family member who might be targeted should be in the inventory, the exposure review and the call tree in the first month, even if decisions about protectors or drivers for them come later in the 12-month plan.

Bringing the first 30 days into the security plan

A robbery in Pattaya, reportedly planned from a rented house nearby, and a fire in Malibu that cut the power to thousands of homes are very different events. Both tested whether a household knew what was around it, whether its systems held when conditions changed and whether its people knew what to do. Those are exactly the things a well-run first month can put in place.

Security for UHNW family offices does not need to start with a large budget or a long report. It needs an owner, a sponsor, a clear 30-day plan and the discipline to test it. At the end of the month, the family should be able to point to real changes at home, written procedures that staff know and a plan for the year.

For the full picture of how this fits with home security, travel, close protection and family office procedures, read our 2026 guide to high net worth security. If you would like help running the first 30 days, our security assessment and residential security teams can start this week, and you can contact us directly.

Sources

About Michael Braun

Michael Braun is a former Special Unit Operator, former Manager at Gavin de Becker & Associates, and Founder & CEO of MSB Protection, an executive protection and residential security firm serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Braun has built his career at the intersection of specialized protective operations, executive protection, residential security, protective intelligence, and security risk management. His experience spans special-unit operations, leadership within Gavin de Becker & Associates, and the development and oversight of private protection programs within demanding UHNW environments.

He has been recognized by The Top 100 Magazine as a leading CEO in the private security field and is the subject of an upcoming Marquis Who’s Who feature highlighting his leadership and contributions to the profession.

Today, Braun is recognized for his work in executive protection, UHNW estate security, residential protection, protective intelligence, adversarial security assessments, and security auditing throughout Beverly Hills and Southern California.

His work focuses on moving private security beyond simply “providing a body” and toward intelligence-led, risk-based protection programs designed to identify vulnerabilities before an adversary can exploit them.

Looking for Executive Protection or Residential Security Services?

If you are a high-net-worth or ultra-high-net-worth individual, family office, estate manager, chief of staff, or executive in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Malibu or Southern California, MSB Protection provides executive protection, residential security, 24/7 protection, protective intelligence, medical-readiness planning, and security risk management.

We evaluate the complete security environment, from threat exposure and residential vulnerabilities to personnel, technology, procedures, protective intelligence, and emergency response, and build a program around the risks that actually exist.

Contact us for a confidential consultation or message us at +1 (805) 285-2807.

Security for UHNW Family Offices: A 30-Day Plan