As many of us spend time in the New Year refocusing our goals and making plans for ourselves for the coming year ahead, we would like to provide another focus for some of your thinking…the next generation. If you’re reading this, it is likely that you have put material time and energy into your own financial and estate planning. But what does the planning look like for the next generation in your life? As a multigenerational business ourselves, we understand the nuances that go into this work. Here are some things to consider:
(1) Adult Children: If your children are well into their adult years and perhaps buying homes, getting married or having children, have they begun the process of setting up a solid foundation for their long-term estate planning? At this stage, protection of insurability and putting solutions in place that provide them with flexibility and control is so important.
(2) Children in Post-Secondary: For many fields of study, insurance carriers have developed unique programs that allow students to put cost-effective solutions in place that have special provisions for future growth and changes. Establishing some of these tools in their planning at a young age can really help to set them up for success in their long-term planning.
(3) Juvenile Age Children: At this phase of life, we consider tools that provide long term protection of insurability to help ensure that, regardless of what may happen throughout their lives, they will always have protection they can take with them for life. These solutions also serve as a method of transferring tax deferred wealth on a rollover basis to the next generation.
Aside from the tools and strategies that might be put in place for your next generation, it is also important to consider the impact that the inevitable transfer of your wealth (and perhaps your business) via your estate might have. Are your children equipped to handle this wealth? Is there a clear plan that has been communicated within your family about how this transfer will occur?
So, when contemplating planning for the next generation, consider 2 things:
(1) How can I help assist my children in establishing the appropriate tools and strategies to set them up for success in their long-term planning?
(2) Have I established a clear and well communicated plan for how my estate and wealth will one day be passed down and handled by my next generation?
Have questions on your Next Gen planning?