Advisors Embrace Ethical Wills for $84 Trillion Wealth Transfer as Heirs Threaten 24% Defection
Updated
Updated · InvestmentNews · Sep 8
Advisors Embrace Ethical Wills for $84 Trillion Wealth Transfer as Heirs Threaten 24% Defection
1 articles · Updated · InvestmentNews · Sep 8
Summary
$84 trillion in intergenerational assets is pushing wealth advisors to add ethical wills—personal statements of values and life lessons—to traditional estate planning.
Eric Becker of Cresset, which oversees more than $260 billion, argues firms must prepare heirs as well as assets, using advisors as conveners rather than therapists or legal drafters.
Orion survey data gives the idea commercial urgency: 18% of investors inheriting $500,000 to $1 million may switch advisors, rising to 24% for inheritances above $1 million.
That risk is steering firms toward earlier next-generation engagement, especially for entrepreneurial families where resilience, judgment and business mindset can be lost in a purely financial transfer.
Could the rising trend of ethical wills be a calculated strategy by advisors to prevent billions from fleeing their firms during wealth transfers?
With 70% of inheritances failing, are wealthy parents inadvertently destroying their family's future by hiding the emotional weight behind their fortunes?
Does passing down a founder's mindset through an ethical will inspire heirs, or does it trap them in outdated beliefs and expectations?