The Great Wealth Transfer is the largest intergenerational shift of financial assets in human history.

According to the 2025 Global Wealth Report published by UBS, an estimated $83 trillion of wealth will be transferred worldwide in the next 20 to 25 years. $74 trillion of this will be vertical transfers (passing to the next generation) while the remaining $9 trillion will be horizontal (most likely to a spouse or civil partner).

If you’re planning to leave behind an inheritance, you too might be a part of this movement.

Keep reading to learn about important factors to consider when leaving your wealth behind, and three signs your family is ready to receive your estate.

An unplanned inheritance can cause conflict

The inheritance you leave behind is likely to have a marked impact on your loved ones, with the capacity to transform the way they live and what they can achieve.

However, planning is vital to allow the transition to proceed smoothly and amicably. If inheritance is unplanned, your family could face a range of undesirable outcomes:

• Assets and wealth may not be distributed as you would have wished.
• Your loved ones might argue over your assets.
• Conflict could lead to inheritance disputes where your family takes the matter to court. This can sow more permanent divisions in your family and leave emotional scars.

Leaving behind an inheritance is about protecting your loved ones, not causing hostilities. That’s why it’s imperative that these possible outcomes are planned for in advance. Otherwise, you leave both your wealth and your family vulnerable.

Your beneficiaries might not know how to use the windfall

The wealth your loved ones inherit offers various long-term benefits, like helping them climb the property ladder, pay off debt, start their own business, or pursue passion projects.

But they need to understand the implications of receiving a large lump sum. If not, they could misuse their inheritance.

For example, they might hold the full amount in a low-yield savings account, allowing it to be slowly eroded by inflation over time.

Likewise, they could succumb to lifestyle creep and spend all their money on short-term wants rather than long-term needs.

By discussing financial planning topics like setting goals and developing investment strategies now, you can help them use the funds more effectively.

3 signs you and your family are prepared for the Great Wealth Transfer

1. You’ve written a will

An appropriately drafted and up-to-date will is one of the principal ways to record how you would like your estate to be distributed. Other arrangements, including joint ownership, trusts, pension nominations and the location of your assets, may also affect how wealth passes on death.

A will enables you to record how you would like your estate to pass. However, the extent of your freedom to distribute assets depends on the applicable succession law.

Jersey law provides certain succession rights in relation to movable property, while Guernsey generally offers greater testamentary freedom, subject to potential claims by eligible family members and dependants. Legal advice is therefore important.

In Jersey, movable and immovable assets are treated differently under succession law, and it is common for separate wills to be prepared for each category. In Guernsey, the location and nature of the assets, as well as the deceased’s domicile, can also determine which succession law applies.

Local succession law may give certain family members rights in relation to part of an estate, irrespective of the terms of a will.

If you die without a valid will, your estate will be distributed under the intestacy rules applicable to you. These rules differ between Jersey and Guernsey and may produce an outcome that does not reflect your wishes, particularly where you have a blended family, an unmarried partner, or assets in more than one jurisdiction.

2. You’ve discussed both the financial and emotional value of the assets you leave behind

Assets aren’t just bank accounts – they can be the family home, heirlooms, cars, or art.

Therefore, you need to consider the emotional implications of the items you leave behind alongside their financial value.

If an asset has sentimental value, like an item of jewellery or personal items that remind your children of their childhood, they might feel upset if someone else receives them.

Therefore, you may wish to justify how you have divided the estate in your will and have frank conversations about your choices with your family. Otherwise, your decision might be questioned or left open to interpretation, which could lay the foundations for conflict.

3. Your children are ready to inherit your wealth

As we’ve discussed, preparing your beneficiaries to receive your wealth is just as important as deciding how you will divide your estate.

This might mean you discuss how they plan to use their inheritance and whether they have specific financial goals.

If they’ve never managed a windfall of this kind before, it’s important to talk to them about how they will hold the wealth, careful budgeting to avoid lifestyle creep, and the basics of investing.

Where appropriate, discussing your broad intentions can help the next generation understand the responsibilities that may accompany an inheritance, without creating assumptions about the amount, timing or form in which wealth may pass.

Work with your Rossborough financial contact

Planning for the Great Wealth Transfer doesn’t need to be complex. All it takes is open, honest communication, effective planning, and the right guidance.

For many of our clients, financial planning increasingly involves more than one generation. If you are beginning to think about how and when to pass wealth to your children or grandchildren, we can help you consider your options and, where appropriate, involve your family in those conversations.

This can also be an opportunity to introduce the next generation to financial planning before they inherit, helping them understand the investments, decisions and objectives behind your family's wealth.

We can help you understand how intergenerational planning fits within your wider financial plan, facilitate appropriate family conversations and work alongside your legal and tax advisers. While we do not provide legal advice, we can help ensure your investments, pensions and financial planning are considered as part of the wider succession-planning process.

Learn more about how we can make sure your estate is ready by emailing enquiries@rfsl.co.uk to book an appointment with your adviser today. Alternatively, call 01534 502000 in Jersey or 01481 747940 in Guernsey to set up a meeting.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

Succession and intestacy rules differ between Jersey, Guernsey and other jurisdictions, and the treatment of an estate may depend on factors including domicile, residence, family circumstances, asset ownership and where assets are situated. You should obtain advice from an appropriately qualified legal adviser before making or changing a will or estate-planning arrangement.

Rossborough Financial Services Limited is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 and licensed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.