Are Your Heirs Prepared for Their Inheritance?

Preparing heirs for their inheritance includes complex legal, financial and emotional considerations. Due to the sensitivity of the topic many would like to create the required legal documents and avoid any further discussion. However, if you want to properly prepare your heirs, you should consider a wealth management strategy that is regularly managed throughout your lifetime. Gill Capital Partners recommends you implement the four financial strategies below into your family’s financial future.

1.     Develop a Multi-Generational Family Financial Strategy

There are numerous helpful and essential legal tools to ensure your wealth is distributed and managed properly once you are deceased. There are also important conversations to have with your family and to prepare your heirs for effectively managing their inheritance.

To begin, an overall family financial strategy with respective objectives must be enunciated and agreed upon. It is recommended to hold a family meeting or a series of family meetings to develop an amenable long-term (50 to 100 year) financial strategy. This strategy should include defining and documenting family financial values for current generations and upcoming generations, identifying legal and financial partners to prepare and execute the appropriate documents associated with these values and determining the process to update the documents as necessary. It is often helpful to have a trusted financial advisor or legal consul or both present to support these conversations.

2.     Reinforcing Family Relationships

When issues arise with the allocation of wealth, they are typically rooted in a fundamental mistrust throughout some or all of the family. This is likely not mistrust that has suddenly arisen, but a pattern of family behavior. But, without taking the time to work on reinforcing family relationships and trust, mistrust could cause significant short-term and long-term financial problems.

Gill Capital Partners recommends educating your heirs early and often. When individuals can develop a sense of personal and financial responsibility they tend to have far greater self-esteem and self-control. With education, families can often prevent significant personal wealth from being a hindrance.

3.     Build Good Communication Outlets

Regular and open dialogue is essential in ensuring potentially difficult financial conversations are conducted respectfully and productively. Similar to building strong trust in families, good communication is built throughout a lifetime. Effective tools for building good communication strategies in your family include holding frequent multi-generational meetings, having conversations with your heirs in regards to family wealth and estate plans, discussing business decisions and reviewing investment strategies.

4.     Make sure you have a professional to help them manage appropriately

Thorough preparation is the best means to ensure both your family’s financial objectives are carried out and they always remain peacefully together. Creating the required financial documents, having the right family conversations and raising your children thoughtfully are all means to support this. Reliable advice is also critical in the process. Experts, such as financial advisors and estate planning attorneys, can help inform and create the proper legal documentation, can assist in shaping conversations and investment strategies, and can serve as leadership and consul for wealth management and distribution.

Are your heirs properly prepared for their inheritance? Call Gill Capital Partners at 800-288-3777, if you would like to learn about The Gill Capital Difference in estate and multi-generational planning.