A major focus in financial planning circles is the “Great Wealth Transfer” expected to unfold over the coming years, as members of the large Baby Boomer generation pass along their wealth to heirs. For financial advisors, this offers an opportunity to support existing clients through estate planning advice, but also creates a risk of losing continuity once clients’ assets pass to the next generation – particularly when the advisor has no existing relationship with the heirs.
In this guest post, David Haughton, VP of Estate Planning at Carson Group, explains that although advisors may feel as though they already know a client’s family well, that familiarity is often one-directional. From an heir’s perspective, being thrust into the challenging situation of losing a loved one – and potentially being named executor or trustee – can make it difficult to build a personal relationship quickly and from scratch with an advisor. Nonetheless, there are several planning topics that naturally create opportunities for advisors to engage with the next generation, not only to build familiarity in advance of a future wealth transition, but also to add value for the existing client by helping heirs prepare for future roles and responsibilities.
For instance, education planning can offer an early touchpoint, as an advisor might bring a 529 plan beneficiary into a conversation to discuss how the account may eventually be used and to show how financial planning translates into real-world outcomes. Charitable planning can also create a meaningful participation opportunity, such as when clients invite children into conversations about giving values and allow them to help direct a portion of charitable donations. Similarly, smaller investment accounts can give advisors a way to discuss concepts such as asset allocation, risk tolerance, and time horizon in a lower-stakes setting, while trust and estate planning conversations can help prepare future fiduciaries for responsibilities they may eventually need to take on.
As those early interactions accumulate, they can create a foundation for deeper family governance conversations. And because clients might feel hesitant about sharing detailed financial information or estate plan specifics, advisors can frame those meetings not as exercises in disclosure, but as opportunities to prepare heirs for future decision-making roles. Which can help clients articulate intentions that might otherwise go unspoken while also increasing their confidence that their plans will be understood and carried out as intended.
Ultimately, the key point is that while estate planning and inheritance conversations can be sensitive, many advisory relationships already contain natural entry points for involving the next generation in meaningful ways. And when those opportunities are used intentionally, they can improve family dialogue, help heirs feel more prepared for future responsibilities, and strengthen both the likelihood of continuity after a wealth transfer and the value of the planning itself for the current client!
