The amount of inherited wealth up for grabs is staggering and getting larger. In a U.S. High-Net-Worth and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Markets 2018 report, Cerulli Associates estimated that $68 trillion is transferring over the next 25 years to heirs and charities.
That amount is significantly higher than earlier estimates (known as “The Great Wealth Transfer”).
While studies differ on the percent of beneficiaries letting their advisors go when the estate transfers, most agree that advisors who ignore the inheriting generation, including spouses, are at a greater risk of losing them. Yet most advisors aren’t engaging the beneficiaries.
Cerulli reported that 45 percent of high-net-worth practices have had limited interactions with their clients’ children, and only 59 percent have established relationships with clients’ spouses.
One could argue that a trusted advisor’s fiduciary responsibility – to do what’s in the best interest of their clients – may need to rise to a higher level of trusted family advisor – a term to describe one who includes the future success of the entire family when offering wealth-transfer planning, advice, and services.