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Data & Research May 26, 2026
How Advisers Can Help Modern Families Navigate Wealth Transfers
Family conversations about wealth transfers are typically the hardest when they happen too late.
Reported by
Valentina Baez
A financial adviser’s role in a wealth transfer from one family member to another is expanding well beyond portfolio management, as the largest intergenerational wealth shift in history is expected to total $124 trillion by 2048, per Cerulli Associates. Increasingly, advisers are expected to guide not only the technical aspects of wealth transfer planning, but the emotional, educational and logistical challenges that can derail even the best-laid plans.
“The first gap that really needs to be bridged is education with the current wealth holder,” says Chayce Horton, an associate director of wealth management at Cerulli. “People don’t necessarily know what kind of trusts are out there … [or] how to structure wealth in ways that are tax advantageous, and a lot of people don’t really know how to have those hard conversations with their family members around money.”
That lack of preparedness is widespread. Research from Empathy Project Ltd., a bereavement care startup, found that nearly 60% of surveyed families expected wealth transfers to occur within the next decade, yet fewer than one-third had formal estate or financial plans in place, according to “The Hidden Barriers to the Great Wealth Transfer,” published in March.
On an individual level, 56% of U.S. adults surveyed lacked any estate planning documents, yet 73% said estate planning was personally important to them, according to Trust & Will’s “2026 Estate Planning Report,” highlighting a significant gap between intention and action.
Industry experts say the lack of preparedness carries major consequences.
“The biggest risks are human, not just financial,” wrote Ron Gura, Empathy’s CEO, in an email to PLANADVISER. “Barriers like family dynamics, timing and support gaps are what derail outcomes.”
Navigating Family Messiness
More than half (57%) of families surveyed by Empathy cited emotional overwhelm and strained relationships as key obstacles to legacy planning, according to the report, and more than 40% reported confusion around roles and timing.
“Family is messy,” says Cody Barbo, Trust & Will’s co-founder and CEO. “That’s what makes these conversations so hard.”
The complexity of family relationships often leaves advisers navigating deeply personal issues such as grief, caregiving stress and long-standing family tensions. Experts say this emotional layer is where advisers can add significant value, but it also requires a shift in approach.
Research from Capital Group Companies Inc. found that only 20% of heirs prioritize working with financial advisers during the transfer process, compared with 60% who turn to attorneys and accountants. Yet 60% of inheritors reported regretting at least some financial decisions made during that period.
“Financial advisers are not top of mind and are likely underutilized during the inheritance event,” says Mike Van Wyk, Capital Group’s head of global market research. “They get crowded out.”
The data underscore advisers’ vulnerability: Without established relationships with heirs, they risk losing the heirs’ business and assets.
Those heirs are, according to Cerulli research, most likely to be part of Generation X for the next decade, as, contrary to the common narrative, Millennials are not the primary beneficiaries of the wealth transfer—yet.
“Gen X is inheriting the most and will be for at least eight more years,” Horton says.
This cohort presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Often described as a “sandwich generation,” Gen X investors are balancing competing financial demands—from supporting aging parents to funding children’s education—while approaching retirement. At the same time, Trust & Will reported that 62% of Gen Xers lack estate planning documents, making them one of the least prepared groups.
Rethinking the Adviser Role
To address the lack of planning, experts urge advisers to change their approach with clients.
“Advisers should stop treating wealth transfer as a legal event and start treating it as a family readiness process,” Gura wrote.
Advisers will need to engage clients—and their families—earlier and more consistently. Rather than waiting for triggering events such as death or illness, advisers should integrate wealth transfer discussions into ongoing planning conversations.
Van Wyk recommends framing these discussions around planning, not mortality, and conducting structured, multigenerational meetings to build relationships and improve communication.
Similarly, Cerulli emphasized the importance of tailoring conversations to each family’s dynamics. According to Horton, “there’s no one-size-fits-all approach” to communication or decisionmaking.
Additionally, digital tools are emerging to close execution gaps. Platforms that organize documents, track progress and guide clients through estate planning steps can help make the process more manageable.
“Digital tools can close the estate-planning gap with structured workflows,” Gura said.
Barbo adds that technology such as artificial intelligence can help advisers manage client relationships more efficiently and identify planning opportunities in real time.
Underlying the transfer is a broader shift in how families think about wealth. Empathy’s research found that more than 70% of families prioritize present-oriented or balanced living over maximizing inheritance.
For advisers, success will depend on more than technical expertise; it will require helping families navigate complexity, build understanding and start conversations many have long avoided.
“The great wealth transfer is no longer about planning,” Gura wrote. “It’s about how we respond to the emotional, structural and financial changes unfolding right now.”
