{"id":6388,"date":"2025-09-10T02:24:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T02:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/6388\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T02:24:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T02:24:16","slug":"the-silent-risk-in-wealth-transfers-families-who-dont-talk-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/6388\/","title":{"rendered":"The silent risk in wealth transfers: families who don\u2019t talk about it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Guided and open family discussions can facilitate smoother wealth transfers.GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Receiving an inheritance should be more than a transaction. After all, it\u2019s not just about money. It\u2019s about values and legacy. <\/p>\n

Advisors can play a critical role in helping clients truly support the financial stability of future generations and ensure family cohesiveness. Yet, clients often shy away from the thorny decisions involving passing wealth from one generation to the next, says Cassandra Cross, a wealth advisor with Nicola Wealth Management Ltd. in Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen families avoid conversations about money until a triggering event forces them to,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is typically a disconnect between transferring wealth and preparedness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given that $1-trillion is expected to pass to the next generation in Canada in the coming years, according to a report<\/a> from CPA (Chartered Professional Accountants) Canada, that disconnect appears more like a yawning gap. <\/p>\n

Many clients erroneously believe that a will and an executor are sufficient to address potential issues. Although those components are important, they represent only part of estate planning. A larger matter is defining family beliefs and goals around wealth. <\/p>\n

A recent RBC Royal Trust survey<\/a> revealed that three in 10 Canadians with a will haven\u2019t discussed their plans with their family. This lack of communication \u201ccan lead to a mismatch in what parents are thinking and their kids are thinking,\u201d says Anthony Maiorino, head of RBC Family Office Services in Toronto. <\/p>\n

In addition to offering value-added services around the technical facets of estate planning, such as implementing trusts or formal loan agreements, wealth advisors can stickhandle family discussions around expectations.<\/p>\n

Establishing a family\u2019s overarching vision is a big part of driving a wealth plan\u2019s design, says Mr. Maiorino. He notes that some clients worry about whether their children share their vision. Intergenerational financial literacy is essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want your kids to be philanthropic, you have to show them what that means to be philanthropic. If you want your kids to invest for the future, you have to talk about that with them,\u201d Mr. Maiorino says.<\/p>\n

Part of that education is insight into what\u2019s coming. If the next generation is flying blindly into receiving significant wealth, that can result in less than ideal outcomes, says Nader Hamid, wealth advisor and portfolio manager with TWM Group at iA Private Wealth Inc. in Pointe-Claire, Que. <\/p>\n

Sometimes, younger generations might also expect to inherit far more than their parents are planning to (or can) pass down. That\u2019s especially true given changes in longevity. Mr. Hamid points to recent FP Canada Standards Council data<\/a> showing that for a couple aged 60 today, there\u2019s a 30 per cent chance of one spouse living past age 95. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are living much longer. So, your kids might be receiving a different amount at a date much longer than anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n

He notes that giving while living is another pressing topic advisors can help guide. Rising costs for the purchase of a first home or post-secondary education have left many in younger generations feeling financially pinched. As a result, some aging parents may want to act now to assist.<\/p>\n

\u201cProviding living gifts to help out now leads to other considerations, like what assets to draw upon, and the most effective way to transfer assets,\u201d Mr. Hamid says. <\/p>\n

Any wealth transfer decision should be informed by frank discussions with adult children so that needs, goals and expectations are all clear. <\/p>\n

\u201cRegular family meetings really help open that box,\u201d he says. Receiving an inheritance should be more than a transaction. After all, it\u2019s not just about money. It\u2019s about values and legacy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Guided and open family discussions can facilitate smoother wealth transfers.GETTY IMAGES Receiving an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[7400,7403,7402,114,268,85,46,7401,266,267],"class_list":{"0":"post-6388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-adveditorial","9":"tag-advisor-nopaywall","10":"tag-advisor-noregwall","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-finance","13":"tag-il","14":"tag-israel","15":"tag-ordid3761065831edit","16":"tag-personal-finance","17":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}