Over the next 25 years, $68 trillion will transfer from Baby Boomers to younger generations. That's the largest wealth transfer in history. Here's the sobering statistic: only 2% of heirs stay with their parents' financial advisor after inheritance.

If you're not building relationships with your clients' adult children now, you're building a practice that will lose 98% of its assets over the next two decades as clients pass away. That's not sustainable. The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances provides comprehensive data on wealth distribution and intergenerational transfer patterns that underscore the urgency of next-generation planning.

Next-generation planning isn't about waiting until inheritance events. It's about engaging adult children 10-20 years before wealth transfers, building relationships based on their needs today, and positioning yourself as the trusted advisor for the entire family.

The $68 Trillion Wealth Transfer

Understanding the scale and timeline matters.

Why next-gen matters should be obvious: your clients are aging. In 10-20 years, many will pass away. If you haven't built relationships with their heirs, those assets will leave your practice. All the work you did building those client relationships will be lost.

The 2% retention statistic is brutal but real. When clients die, heirs almost always change advisors. Because the relationship was with the parent, not the heir. The heir has no connection to you, doesn't understand your value, and sees inheritance as an opportunity to choose their own advisor. Studies by Cerulli Associates on wealth transfer confirm that failing to engage next-generation clients is one of the primary causes of asset attrition in wealth management practices. This makes multi-generational wealth planning essential for practice sustainability.

Timeline urgency is underestimated. Wealth transfer isn't something happening far in the future. It's happening now. Every year, some portion of your client base passes away. If you're not prepared, you're losing assets every year.

The time to build next-gen relationships is 5-10 years before inheritance events, not after.

Identifying Next-Gen Opportunities

Not all clients have next-gen opportunities, but many do.

Client age and wealth indicators suggest priority. Clients over 65 with substantial assets ($2 million+) should trigger next-gen conversations. Clients over 75 make it urgent.

Conversations about estate plans and heirs reveal opportunities. When clients discuss who's inheriting what, that's your cue to ask about the heirs' preparedness and whether introductions make sense.

Family dynamics assessment matters. If adult children are responsible and live nearby, engagement is easier. If children are estranged, financially irresponsible, or scattered globally, it's harder but often more important. Understanding the ideal client profile helps identify which families offer the best next-gen opportunities.

Geographic proximity of children affects engagement strategy. Children living locally can attend family meetings. Those across the country need virtual relationship building.

Identify which clients have next-gen potential and prioritize accordingly.

Engagement Strategies by Life Stage

Adult children need different things at different life stages.

Young professionals aged 25-35 are establishing careers and financial independence. They need help with:

  • Student loan repayment strategies
  • Career decisions and compensation negotiation
  • First home purchase planning
  • Starting retirement savings (401(k), IRA)
  • Building emergency funds
  • Insurance protection

Establishing families aged 35-45 are buying homes and raising children. They need:

  • Family budgeting and cash flow management
  • Life insurance adequacy analysis
  • Disability insurance protection
  • 529 college savings planning
  • Estate planning basics (wills, guardianship)
  • Home purchase and mortgage guidance

Peak earning years aged 45-60 face complex planning needs:

  • College funding strategies and financial aid
  • Retirement savings acceleration
  • Investment portfolio management
  • Tax planning as income grows
  • Insurance review and updates
  • Caring for aging parents while raising kids

Tailor your engagement and service offerings to where adult children are in life.

The Family Meeting Approach

Multi-generational meetings are your primary engagement tool.

Positioning with parents requires the right framing: "I work with several families where we help adult children avoid common financial mistakes. Would it make sense to include your kids in one of our meetings to discuss the basics of your estate plan and answer any questions they have?"

Multi-generational planning sessions bring parents and adult children together to discuss:

  • Overview of parents' estate plan
  • Location of important documents
  • Financial values and priorities
  • Communication about wealth transfer timing
  • Expectations and responsibilities
  • Addressing questions and concerns

The CFP Board's practice standards emphasize the importance of understanding the full family financial picture when providing comprehensive planning services, which naturally includes engaging multiple generations.

Inheritance discussion facilitation helps families have difficult conversations. Many parents never discuss specifics with children. You can facilitate these conversations in a structured, helpful way.

Values-based wealth transfer conversations go beyond numbers to discuss:

  • Why parents accumulated wealth
  • What they hope the wealth enables for children
  • Expectations about work and financial responsibility
  • Family legacy and charitable intentions
  • How to handle wealth responsibly

Family meetings demonstrate your value to the entire family, not just the parents.

Service Models for Next-Gen

Not all adult children need or want full wealth management services initially.

Light-touch for low-asset children provides value without extensive resources. Offer:

  • Annual check-in calls
  • Educational resources and articles
  • Answers to specific questions
  • Referrals to other professionals
  • Low or no-fee services initially

Financial coaching and education serves young professionals and early-career children:

  • Student loan repayment planning
  • Budgeting and cash flow coaching
  • Career and compensation guidance
  • Basic investment education
  • Insurance needs analysis

Graduated service as wealth increases transitions children from light-touch to comprehensive management as assets grow through inheritance, career success, or business ventures.

Technology-forward delivery appeals to younger generations. Video meetings, mobile apps, client portals, and text communication fit their preferences better than formal office meetings.

Match your service model to where adult children are today, with a path to comprehensive services as their needs and assets grow.

Common Mistakes

Advisors typically make predictable errors with next-gen planning.

Waiting until inheritance event is too late. If your first conversation with adult children is "Your parent just passed away, let's talk about the inheritance," you've lost. The relationship should be established years earlier.

Not understanding different values is a critical mistake. Millennials and Gen Z have different priorities, communication preferences, and values than Baby Boomers. Treating 35-year-olds exactly like their 70-year-old parents doesn't work.

Treating adult children like their parents alienates them. They don't want the same service model. They want technology, flexibility, and engagement on their terms.

Being too formal or traditional in your approach turns off younger generations. Loosen up. Be more conversational. Meet them where they are.

Focusing only on high-net-worth children ignores that all children will eventually inherit. The child earning $60,000 annually might inherit $2 million. Build that relationship now.

Avoid these mistakes by intentionally designing next-gen engagement strategies that respect generational differences.

Building Relationships Early

Start next-gen relationships before inheritance events by years or decades.

College graduation gifts create positive first impressions. Send graduating children a book about money management or a small gift with a note offering to help with any financial questions as they start their career.

Career milestone check-ins maintain the relationship. When you hear a client's child got promoted, changed jobs, or reached a career milestone, reach out to congratulate them and offer help if needed.

Life event touchpoints build connection over time:

  • First job: Offer to help with 401(k) selection
  • Engagement: Discuss insurance and joint financial planning
  • Home purchase: Provide mortgage guidance
  • Birth of children: Talk about 529 plans and life insurance
  • Career changes: Help with rollover decisions

These touchpoints build the relationship gradually, establishing trust before inheritance occurs.

Retention Impact

Multi-generational relationships dramatically improve asset retention.

Families with multi-generational relationships have 3x higher retention rates when the original clients pass away. If children already have relationships with you, they're far more likely to keep assets with your firm.

The math is compelling: if you have $100 million under management and lose 98% of it over 20 years as clients die, you'll have $2 million left. If you retain 60% through next-gen relationships, you'll have $60 million plus growth. This dramatically impacts practice valuation and sale prospects.

Building next-gen relationships isn't optional if you want a sustainable practice. It's essential for long-term client retention.

Implementation Strategy

If you don't have a next-gen program, start building one.

Identify clients with adult children worth engaging. Start with your top 20-30 client households with children over age 25.

Have conversations with parents about next-gen engagement. Explain your approach and ask permission to reach out to adult children.

Design your service offering for next-gen clients. What will you provide? At what cost? How will it differ from your standard service?

Begin outreach systematically. Don't try to engage all adult children at once. Start with a few, learn what works, and scale up.

Host events that appeal to multiple generations. Educational seminars on topics relevant to adult children with parents invited create natural engagement opportunities.

Track engagement and refine your approach based on what resonates.

The Long-Term Perspective

Next-gen planning requires patience and long-term thinking.

You might work with someone's 30-year-old child for 20 years before they inherit significant wealth. During those years, you're providing light-touch service, answering questions, and building trust.

That 20-year investment pays off when the $5 million inheritance stays with your firm instead of moving to another advisor.

Firms that build multi-generational relationships create sustainable practices that don't depend on constantly replacing lost clients. They grow across generations within the same families.

The best time to start next-gen planning was 10 years ago. The second-best time is today.

Identify clients with adult children. Start conversations about family meetings. Begin building relationships with the next generation. Design appropriate service models.

Do that consistently and your practice won't shrink as clients age and pass away. It will grow as the next generation brings their own assets and eventually inherits their parents' wealth, keeping it all under your management. Combined with strong ongoing service models that engage all generations, you create sustainable practice value.

Next-gen planning is how you build a practice that lasts beyond a single generation of clients and creates value that survives your own eventual retirement or succession.