Financial
FOCUS
Heir Flow Transferring wealth to the next generation
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or years, you’ve worked hard and made careful decisions about your life and money. With time and some good fortune, you have managed to accumulate, grow and protect valuable assets. Now, you’re ready to shift your focus from acquiring wealth to transferring it to That transition can be challenging—whether your wealth is modest or considerable—because it is rarely as straightforward as dividing assets into equal parts and assigning them uniformly to designated recipients. Wealth created by one generation can be a source of provision and opportunity for generations that follow. It can also create issues and unintended consequences for those who earned it and those who inherit it, unless there is an adequate, thoughtful strategy that leverages the counsel of legal, tax and financial professionals along the way.
Do your heirs have enough financial knowledge and maturity to manage future wealth for themselves? Does each heir get an equal share of your wealth? Or do you accommodate an heir’s unique needs in a disproportionate way? How do you balance the need to provide for future generations with your desire to be philanthropic?
Family counsel
Wealth transfer is likely to involve people who share a history with a lifetime of feelings, assumptions, and expectations to complicate it. Thought process That is why the most difficult part of Do you believe your heirs are auto- wealth transfer could actually be commatically entitled to your wealth, or do munication: clearly sharing your intenyou expect them to earn it in some way? 20 | Intown | November + December 2020
By Evans Attwell Senior Vice President Frost Bank
