Have you heard people talking about an upcoming event known as the great wealth transfer? It’s not really an event, per se, but something that is going to slowly take place over the upcoming years. It refers to the passing of wealth from baby boomers to their heirs.
The reason that this transfer stands out is that it is going to involve $68 trillion. While you do have to consider inflation and other such issues, the truth is that no generation has ever before passed this much wealth on to their children. It is unprecedented. The amount of money accumulated by baby boomers is astounding, and now their children are going to get it in one form or another.
As you can imagine, this raises all sorts of questions. How will people pass on businesses and assets that are worth a lot but that are not strictly cash? What about real estate? What are the tax implications of passing on $68 trillion and how much of that money is just going to go to the government? Are there creative ways to move the money, such as using trusts, rather than just leaving it to heirs directly? What are some of the estate planning mistakes that are going to be very important for this generation to avoid?
If you are doing your estate planning, no matter how much you have personally, it’s wise to think about it through this lens. Consider what you can do to make your part of the great wealth transfer go as smoothly as possible for your family.
