Financial experts say you should start talking about inheritance now

According to new research, almost half of Americans will receive an inheritance in the next decade, but as it turns out, many families aren’t having this conversation.

Not only does it force you to acknowledge your mortality, but having a conversation about wealth transfer with your loved ones can be awkward. According to new research from Edward Jones, 48% of Americans say they plan to leave an inheritance, but 35% say they don’t even plan on having that conversation with their loved ones.

“The generational wealth transfer is something that’s already happening all around us and it’s significant assets that are going to be passing to several generations,” said Jared Colao, financial advisor at Edward Jones.

Baby boomers and the Silent Generation are expected to pass down about $84 trillion in assets through 2045. Experts are calling this the Great Wealth Transfer. “Something we found extremely interesting in the data that we’ve collected is roughly a third of American families don’t plan on discussing this information or how those assets will transfer at all with the next generations,” said Colao.

Experts say having the inheritance conversation with your loved ones is essential. “We feel that if plans are not in place or if it’s not discussed, it can create quite an uncomfortable and inherently emotional conversation when someone passes,” said Colao.

Colao said there’s no better time than the present to have that conversation and because dealing with splitting up your assets can be complicated for some, there’s always professional help available. “As the professional can help alleviate some of those complexities around what types of assets are at hand, what may make sense to transfer in certain directions,” said Colao.

Click here for more information on how to talk to your loved ones about inheritance.