Developing & practicing a family constitution is one part of family governance.
The family constitution documents the values that the business family stands for, the ways family members behave and communicate with each other, matters related to family benefits especially for family members who work in the family business, employment and of next generation family members, marriage and divorce as well as other relevant matters. Some versions of family constitutions also cover matters relating to inheritance and shareholding arrangements; my suggestion is that these should be handled with care due to legal ramifications that they may carry especially for families living or conducting business in multi-jurisdictions.
Developing a family constitution for a business family would most likely be facilitated and led by a qualified and trusted family business advisor. The process can be time-consuming (easily several months) requiring careful and focused collection of relevant data and feedback from the family members, compiling the data, discussing it and reaching consensus. The latter is a fundamental point in the success of this process.
A good family constitution is one that is custom-built for the family, addressing their real requirements and aspirations and that has their consensus agreement and support.