<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192437601262779&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">

Preparing Your Estate for the Next Family Generation

Feb 28, 2019 9:00:00 AM The MacMillan Estate Planning Team Estate Planning, Business Succession, family inheritance, Family Office

dreamstime_m_52854356

We’re currently approaching the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history. Considering this, it’s easy to see why preparing to pass on your legacy is such a significant process. How can you work to secure a better future for the next generation of your family?

The Strength of Your Plan

There’s a lot to keep in mind if you want to efficiently carry your legacy into the next generation, but the best place to start is the structure of your estate plan itself. All necessary documentation for your estate must be up-to-date and written well enough to be as legally and strategically effective as possible. Your will, letter of intent, beneficiary and guardianship designations, and the paperwork behind your trusts are all central to the success of wealth transfer to your descendants. Also remember that trusts in particular are highly practical and versatile for leaving assets to children and grandchildren in a financially viable and carefully controlled manner.

Your Children & Their Inheritance

In addition to optimizing the legal and financial mechanics of your estate, you’ll need to prepare your descendants for the legacy they will receive. Younger children will need to be taught fundamental skills for responsible financial planning and money management. Adult children will need to fully understand the responsibilities that come with family inheritance and what expectations they should or shouldn’t have. Teach them the importance of financial advisors, tax planning, charitable giving, and more. It may even be prudent to begin giving to your children during your lifetime, depending on their age, the assets in question, and many other factors.

What About the Business?

A family business can introduce a number of additional considerations for successful transition of wealth. Who of your children or grandchildren is most fit to carry on the company, and are they intent on taking up that role? Are they prepared, educated, and motivated enough to maintain and improve the company’s profitability and operational integrity? If they’ve not yet reached an appropriate age for discussion regarding the succession of the business, it will be necessary to encourage and engage them on a more formative level. The better you plan ahead in preparing your descendants, the stronger your legacy will be for generations to come.

If you want to prepare your estate for the next generation of your family, there’s no better way than with the help of an experienced and respected family office. Our estate planning experts have everything you and your family need for the task, so get in touch to meet with us today.


At MacMillan Estate Planning, our team of professional trust and estate practitioners, chartered accountants, financial planners, and legal professionals look forward to assisting you with the design of your estate plan and will ensure you build, protect, and enjoy your wealth. The information provided is general and may not be suited to your objectives or sufficient to ensure the protection of you and your family. You should not act on this information without providing MacMillan Estate Planning with the opportunity to ensure that it is suitable for your unique situation.


We are here to help
Ask Us a Question

Posts by Topic

see all
checklist_image.png