Families Hire Therapists for $124 Trillion Wealth Transfer to Avert Inheritance Feuds
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 7
Families Hire Therapists for $124 Trillion Wealth Transfer to Avert Inheritance Feuds
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 7
Summary
$124 trillion is expected to pass between U.S. generations over the next two decades, and some families are hiring therapists or coaches to manage inheritances before disputes harden.
Those advisers focus less on forcing agreement than on helping relatives handle conflict without destroying relationships, as succession plans raise emotionally charged questions about money, control and fairness.
Bill Martin, a 55-year-old Oregon farmer, turned to a coach-therapist after watching a fight over his family's farm leave him and his brother no longer speaking.
That experience is pushing some families to treat estate planning as both a financial and psychological exercise, with preserving family ties becoming as important as dividing assets.