Bridging family beliefs and behaviors

Key insights into effective wealth transfer across generations

Preparing for the great wealth transfer—through research

As Baby Boomers plan to pass down an unprecedented amount of wealth—an estimated $84 trillion by 2045—one question holds deep significance.

How can families prepare for a successful transition to the next generation and beyond?

Our latest research paper explores 16 years of findings, based on insights collected from 120 client families. It demonstrates how beliefs and behavior—and, often, the gaps in between—are hugely influential in charting each family’s roadmap.

25 best practices for multi-generational wealth transfer

Here at the Center for Family Legacy, we group our best wealth transfer practices into six key pillars. We define these pillars in depth in our foundational white paper.

Family cohesiveness Who are we, and what do we stand for?

Family history and culture
Family member well-being
Family mission statement

Read article

Governance Who leads, and how do we work together?

Conflict resolution
Family governance
Family meetings

Read article

Mentoring How do we prepare leaders to manage the family legacy?

Family support network
Financial education
Money smarts

Read article

Strategic planning What are our goals and objectives? What happens when someone dies?

Planning for major life events
Understanding economics
Wealth objectives

Read article

Philanthropy How will we give back?

Shared philanthropy
Strategic philanthropy
Support for philanthropy

Read article

Trusts and estates How will we ensure long-term financial stability?

Communicating intentions
Grantor and beneficiary mentoring
Selecting trustees and advisors

Read article

It’s crucial to consider each practice along four dimensions.

When families engage us, we ask family members to complete an online priorities assessment, providing their individual perspectives on each of the practices. These answers lay the groundwork for a unique legacy transition plan.

Importance

How important is this practice?

Engagement

Is the family currently engaged in this practice?

Current impact

What’s the immediate impact of engaging in this practice (or not)?

Future impact

Could today’s level of engagement become a liability? What about in the case of a major life event?

Finding and closing the opportunity gaps

According to the family members we work with, all six pillars of practices are important for successful wealth transfer—but importance doesn’t always translate into engagement, which creates an opportunity gap.

This opportunity gap spans all 25 best practices, across every pillar.

94%

agree that trust and estate plans are important—but only 42% were actively engaged in the planning.

83%

agree that establishing family governance is critical—yet only 26% had actively participated in the practice.

Why?

Beliefs can differ from behavior. Having a team to guide crucial conversations can help your family find and close the gaps.

Which practices are considered the most important? These practices are rated highly important to the successful transition of wealth by 95% or more of the family members in our research.

Teamwork and communication
Financial education
Family member well-being
Trustee and beneficiary relationships
Parenting skills
Family history and culture

Which practices have the largest opportunity gaps? These practices have average opportunity gaps of 60% or more—meaning that engagement falls far below the practice’s perceived importance.

Grantor & Beneficiary Mentoring 70%
Conflict Resolution 70%
Financial Education 67%
Succession Planning 65%
Wealth Objectives 64%
Teamwork & Communication 61%

Focusing your family’s time and effort

Where families choose to invest their time has a direct impact on successful wealth transition. Our team helps families think through best practices, cut through superficial conversations, and close gaps between beliefs and behavior.

91%

of families who engage in teamwork and communications practices say their efforts are beneficial.

90%

of families who don’t engage say their lack of communication and teamwork is detrimental.

Why clear communication matters

Ignoring some best practices might not impact families today, but it could have outsized effects in the future.

Superficial discussions may skirt issues that need resolution.^{Disclosure 1}

Lack of transparency around real issues affects family dynamics and trust.^{Disclosure 1}

Differences in communication can create reliance on a few—and ignore the views of others.^{Disclosure 1}

Creating a flexible roadmap

Because every family is unique, any roadmap for successful wealth transition must reflect that uniqueness. What would it look like if we mapped out your family’s practices based on their importance and engagement?

What to celebrate

Celebrate your family’s core strengths—highly important practices where family members already spend a lot of effort.

Common practices:

Family history and culture
Family member well-being
Shared values
Support for philanthropy
Trustee-beneficiary relationships

What to prioritize

Prioritize where opportunity gaps are the largest—highly important practices that currently get little engagement.

Common practices:

Communicating intentions
Conflict resolution
Family meetings and governance
Planning for major life events
Succession planning

What to evaluate

Evaluate practices which rate low on importance and engagement. Their importance could change—especially when major life events occur.

Common practices:

Family mission statement
Family policies
Shared philanthropy
Support for entrepreneurs

Starting the conversation about generational wealth transfer

The stakes are high, and time is precious. If you’re planning to start the conversation within your own family, here are a few tips to guide your discussions—one for each pillar of best practices.

Family cohesiveness exercise

Take the time to craft your family’s story so it can become part of each generation’s inheritance.

Governance exercise

Clarify who will lead—now and in the future—as well as criteria for making decisions that reflect the family’s mission and values.

Mentoring exercise

Consider who has the will and the capability (or potential) to lead wealth management and transfer.

Strategic planning exercise

Establish wealth objectives with written plans and expectations for growing capital and distributing funds.

Philanthropy exercise

Discuss whether your family wishes to support philanthropic initiatives and, if so, which shared values they represent.

Trusts and estates exercise

Prepare beneficiaries for the responsibilities of managing wealth—especially third-generation family members—with open dialogue.

Successful transition requires a multi-dimensional approach.

Each family’s wealth journey is unique. We help families navigate the crucial conversations and practices that can support successful transition for generations to come.

We’re honored to have done this work with our client families, and we thank them for the data they provided for this innovative research.

Connect with us

At the Center for Family Legacy, we work with family members to understand what they truly want to prioritize—and help them create the future they envision.

Who we are

Meet the team

Email us

centerforfamilylegacy@truist.com

Like what you’re seeing? Get it direct.

Sign up for our Truist Perspectives emails to get tips and inspiration–right to your inbox.

First name^*

Please enter a first name There are unacceptable characters in the submission

Last name^*

Please enter a last name There are unacceptable characters in the submission

Email address^*

e.g. example@email.com Please enter a valid email address e.g. email@domain.com

truist_hp

The seventh inning stretch

The seventh inning stretch

The seventh inning stretch

The seventh inning stretch

The seventh inning stretch

Bridging family beliefs and behaviors

Preparing for the great wealth transfer—through research

25 best practices for multi-generational wealth transfer

It’s crucial to consider each practice along four dimensions.

Finding and closing the opportunity gaps