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June 17, 2026
With the Great Wealth Transfer underway, the next two decades present an exciting time for firms and independent advisors to help their clients make this transition as smooth as possible. In this article we share some of the top challenges facing financial advisors and how they can overcome them with various wealth transfer strategies.
The great generational wealth transfer is expected to occur over the next two decades where tens of trillions of dollars will transition as older individuals begin to pass down their wealth to their beneficiaries. Nearly $100 trillion will be transferred from Baby Boomers and older generations, representing 81% of all transfers according to Cerulli. Experts are calling this period of time the largest movement of wealth in human history.
The people who inherit all of this wealth include spouses as well as next-generation heirs who represent multiple generations including:
Generation X (born between 1965 - 1980)
Millennials (born between 1981 - 1996)
Generation Z (born between 1997 - 2012)
For financial professionals, wealth managers, and estate planners, this shift is not merely a future projection. It is an immediate operational reality that requires a pivot from traditional, single-generation asset management toward a holistic, multi-generational advisory framework.
While the volume of wealth changing hands during this period will be immense, financial professionals should begin to prepare to overcome some major hurdles that could threaten the stability of their practices. Failing to address these challenges could result in a rapid contraction of an advisor's business footprint.
One of the main challenges financial professionals face during the great wealth transfer is a lack of expertise in multi-generational planning knowledge. Historical data from Williams and Preisser, Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values, shows that wealth built by creators typically dissipates after two to three generations, failing to sustain a permanent legacy. Standard portfolio management and asset allocation strategies are insufficient to break this cycle. To perpetuate family wealth successfully, financial professionals need specialized training to navigate family dynamics and values.
Being prepared is one of the biggest opportunities financial professionals have to avoid client attrition during the great wealth transfer. Client retention during an estate transition is exceptionally low across the financial landscape. Industry data from Capgemini, indicates that the vast majority of heirs terminate the relationship with their parents' financial advisor immediately after inheriting assets. This action can dramatically affect an advisor’s book of business negatively. To prevent this, financial professionals should learn how to work with the next generation and demonstrate to them early on that they are the right choice for helping them with this transfer before the transfer event occurs.
Lack of readiness extends beyond client-facing skills to the very structure of an advisor’s practice. Many advisory practices are not adequately positioned to manage the complexities of generational wealth transfers. This critical operational gap has a major consequence beyond contributing to asset loss when wealth transfers occur. It can devalue an advisor’s practice when the advisor is ready to retire or sell their practice. Without a robust succession plan capable of handling multi-generational clients, the practice risks being seen merely as a client list, rather than a valuable, enduring business.
The marketplace has historically lacked integrated educational pathways to solve these challenges that financial professionals face. Traditional professional programs often focus exclusively on isolated areas, such as technical tax software or basic estate law. Prior to recent developments, no single program or designation helped advisors deal with all the interconnected behavioral, technical and operational issues of generational wealth transfer simultaneously.
The mechanics of wealth transfers, especially across generations, involve a delicate combination of structural vehicles, tax laws, and professional boundaries. Wealth transfers typically involving a variety of documents and assets, including:
Wills
Living trusts
Irrevocable structures
Family limited partnerships
Charitable strategies
One very important aspect of managing a wealth transfer that financial professionals should receive training on is learning how to make the distinction between legal information and legal advice. Financial advisors must master the ability to explain structural options, tax implications, and estate mechanisms clearly to clients without crossing the regulatory line into unauthorized legal practice. Maintaining this boundary protects the firm while keeping the advisor at the center of the estate planning team.
Safeguarding family assets across generations requires advisors to use sophisticated strategies that go beyond foundational wealth accumulation models.
Eventually a discussion about which option is best (gifting vs. inheritances) will make its way into your office. Being prepared to guide your clients through the strategic trade-offs between lifetime gifting and traditional testamentary inheritances is crucial to gaining their trust. Lifetime gifting allows wealth creators to transfer assets gradually, which can reduce the ultimate size of the taxable estate while allowing creators to mentor heirs in capital management. In contrast, inheritance wealth transfers occur at the end of the wealth creator's life. This method can come as a surprise to some beneficiaries causing them to be unprepared but it can also be something that allows the wealth creator to distribute multiple assets to multiple people.
Specialized expertise in handling how small to medium sized businesses get transferred is crucial for advisors to gain. Business entities are highly variable and frequently bound to family identity. Advisors should be ready to explain how various advanced corporate structures could work for their clients and buy-sell agreements work. Advisors who are capable of facilitating seamless business succession planning will be set up to prosper during the great wealth transfer.
The Journal of Financial Planning claims Baby Boomers own an estimated 12 million privately held businesses. And according to MergersCrop, approximately 10 million Baby Boomer-owned businesses are expected to change hands in the next few years, representing a collective value of around $10 trillion, which highlights the urgent need for advisor expertise in this niche.
As an advisor, you want to retain next-generation clients so it's very important that you implement proactive communication strategies designed to interact with heirs effectively. Financial professionals must leverage behavioral finance principles to successfully navigate family dynamics and bridge wealth creators and wealth receivers. By facilitating multi-generational family meetings and addressing the unique values of the beneficiaries, advisors can build the trust needed to reduce the risk of asset defection when the wealth transfer occurs.
Below are some commonly asked questions about getting ready for the great wealth transfer as a financial professional.
The primary beneficiaries from the great wealth transfer will be the immediate heirs of the Baby Boomer generation, including Millennials and Generation Z. According to Cerulli, Millennials will inherit the most of any generation over the next 25 years ($46 trillion). Also women specifically are expected to inherit $30 trillion dollars during the great wealth transfer, and yet the advisory workforce remains overwhelmingly male according to Financial Advisor.
A wealth transfer tax is a regulatory levy imposed by federal or state governments on the movement of assets between individuals. This category includes estate taxes applied at death, gift taxes applied to lifetime transfers, and generation-skipping transfer taxes designed to prevent families from avoiding taxation by passing wealth directly to grandchildren.
The amount of wealth that can move tax-free is determined by the federal unified gift and estate tax exemption threshold. Additionally, wealth creators can utilize the annual gift tax exclusion to distribute specific maximum amounts per recipient each year without reducing their lifetime exemption limit.
To provide an advisor-centric program for financial professionals in the financial services industry, the College for Financial Planning, a Kaplan Company, is launching a specialized designation program called the Generational Wealth Transfer Designation Program. This program was designed specifically for financial planners, wealth managers, portfolio managers, asset managers, investment advisors, trust officers, and family office professionals looking to help high-net-worth clients navigate wealth transfer and cement their role as an indispensable steward for families in transition.
The Generational Wealth Transfer Designation Program should be considered as a great next step for students and graduates of advanced programs, including the Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional℠, Sports and Entertainment Accredited Wealth Management Advisor℠, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠, or a Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning.
The Generational Wealth Transfer Designation Program delivers a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary curriculum designed to solve real-world advisory challenges. Key areas of the curriculum include:
The Landscape of Transfer
Family Dynamics and Governance
Technical Wealth Transfer Strategies
Holistic Legacy and Succession
Application (Case Study)
This educational solution is delivered as an affordable, self-study option that fits into the schedule of a busy financial professional. Because the program leads to a recognized industry credential and features no prerequisites, it provides a frictionless path for any financial professional determined to master the great wealth transfer and secure the longevity of their practice.
Written by Kaplan Financial experts, reviewed by Dr. Sara Stolberg Berkowicz, Ph.D., CFP®. Sara is Associate Professor and Department Chair of the Professional Designations Department at the College for Financial Planning, specializing in the areas of retirement, divorce financial planning, and money psychology.
eBook
Career Path Stories From Finance Professionals eBook
If you’re planning a future in wealth management, this eBook will help learn about potential careers and a variety of career path options.
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