Why Gen X and Millennial Investors Need Estate Planning Now

As trillions of dollars transfer from Baby Boomers to younger generations, Generation X and Millennials (also known as Generation Y) face a critical question: Now that you do — or soon will — hold significant wealth, do you have an estate plan to protect YOUR family?

Essential estate planning issues include growing and protecting your wealth, securing your minor children’s future, supporting aging parents, minimizing tax burdens, and building and preserving a legacy for generations.

Without a comprehensive estate plan, your family may face unnecessary probate costs, your assets could be distributed against your wishes, minor children might be placed with unintended guardians, and your heirs could face substantial tax burdens.

This guide provides practical advice for Gen X and Millennials on planning and implementing a family estate plan that protects your loved ones and honors your objectives.

Why Gen X and Millennials Need Estate Planning

Gen X and Millennials face estate planning challenges their parents may not have encountered. These include planning for asset growth and protection, tax strategies, charitable giving, business interests, and, increasingly, managing digital assets. Estate planning can also help families support aging parents and minor children.

When you create a family estate plan, you design a blueprint for how your wealth, responsibilities, and values will go to the people and causes that matter to you. Benefits include:

Protection for minor children and dependents

If you have children under 18, an estate plan allows you to name guardians and outline financial instructions for education, health care, and living expenses. Without that, a probate court may appoint guardians and determine how your estate funds are managed. The court’s decisions may not agree with what you would have chosen for your children’s care or financial future.

Tax efficiency and cost control

While the federal estate tax may affect higher-net-worth households, state taxes and income taxes on retirement assets can affect all generations and income levels. Thoughtful estate planning uses tools such as revocable trusts, beneficiary designations, and lifetime gifting to reduce probate costs and potential estate or income taxes.

Support for aging parents

Many Gen X and Millennial investors support their aging parents. Your plan can reflect those realities by assigning roles, defining support, and protecting partners or stepchildren who might not be covered under state laws.

Control over digital and business assets

Younger generations hold more wealth in digital form than any group, including online accounts, intellectual property, and digital businesses. Estate planning documents can name people to manage those accounts, provide access instructions, and thus avoid permanent loss of valuable data or assets.

Potential inheritance issues

Many families, but far from all, also expect to receive an inheritance.  26 percent of Millennials said they expect to receive an inheritance, while 32 percent plan to leave one; 26 percent of Gen X and 30 percent of Boomers said they plan to leave an inheritance to the next generation.

Clarity for your family

Proper estate planning helps families decide who receives assets, who cares for minor children, and who handles financial and medical decisions if you cannot. Clear directions can help loved ones manage a difficult time with specific guidance.

The Demographics of Estate Planning

Baby Boomers hold a large share of U.S. wealth and are expected to transfer an estimated $84 to $124 trillion to younger generations in the next two decades. In addition to the assets they may grow on their own, Gen X and Millennial investors could inherit meaningful assets. Here’s a summary of the major demographic categories:

Baby Boomer

• Born between: 1946-1964
• Current age: 62-80
• Approximate share of U.S. wealth: 51 percent
• Approximate assets: $86 trillion

Generation X

• Born between: 1965-1980
• Current age: 46-61
• Approximate share of U.S. wealth: 26 percent
• Approximate assets: $44 trillion

Millennials (Gen Y)

• Born between:1981-1996
• Current age: 30-45
• Approximate share of U.S. wealth: 11 percent
• Approximate assets: $18 trillion

Generation Z

• Born between: 1997-2012
• Current age: 14-29
• Approximate share of U.S. wealth: 3 percent
• Approximate assets: $5 trillion

Generation Alpha

• Born between: 2013-2026
• Current age: 0-13
• Approximate share of U.S. wealth: 0 percent
• Approximate assets: none

Potential Disadvantages of Estate Plans for Gen X and Millennials

Estate planning involves tradeoffs. Some challenges you may face include:

Upfront and ongoing costs

Working with attorneys, tax professionals, and advisors involves professional fees. If you add trusts, corporate structures, or ongoing trustee services, the cost increases, chiefly for complex estates, blended families, or multi‑state families.

Time and emotional energy

Designing a family estate plan requires decisions about guardianship, end‑of‑life care, and how much each family member receives. Many investors postpone planning because these conversations can be emotionally uncomfortable.

Complexity

Advanced strategies such as irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships, and charitable entities are subject to legal and tax rules you must follow. You need to regularly review your strategies to make sure they still work for you.

Estate Planning for Different Life Stages

Your needs will look different depending on where you sit within Gen X and Millennial age ranges. Investors in their thirties to early 40s often focus on children, mortgages, and career growth, while those in their late 40s to early 60s may be thinking about retirement, college costs, aging parents, and business exits or major liquidity events.

Early and mid‑career Millennials (30s to early 40s)

Mid-career Millennials typically have growing careers, incomes, and families. If you are part of this group, you likely need a basic estate plan that protects and grows your family’s assets and includes a charitable giving investment plan. Despite these needs, 62 percent of Millennials do not have a will or other estate planning documents.

Later‑career Gen X (late 40s to early 60s)

The later-career Gen X cohort is generally close to their peak earning years. Their estate plan may need an advanced trust, a business succession strategy, and charitable giving strategies that correspond with a near‑term or partial exit from work. Even at this later stage of life, only about half of Gen X adults report having a will.

Why Younger Investors Delay Estate Planning

Younger affluent investors frequently postpone estate planning for these key reasons:

Estate planning is overwhelming

The estate planning process can seem overwhelming. Planning means understanding unfamiliar legal and financial terminology and concepts, and making difficult decisions about who gets what assets and about guardianship. Many younger investors don’t know where to start, so they default to not starting at all.

Many delay important life milestones

Many Millennials and Gen X are delaying marriage, homeownership, and parenthood compared to previous generations. Without traditional milestones that trigger estate planning conversations, they may not recognize the need to protect personal and business assets.

Many younger investors have other financial priorities

Gen X and Gen Y investors often have immediate financial needs, such as student loan debt, saving for a home, and building a retirement fund. Estate planning feels less urgent than current financial goals. Plus, Gen X and Gen Y often consider themselves too young to think about mortality. Their age makes it easy for them to put estate planning on the back burner.

Many younger investors prefer online to in-person

Many younger people like handling financial services issues online and via apps. Yet a comprehensive estate plan often requires face‑to‑face conversations, physical signatures, and a review of documents that are hard to replicate online. This mismatch between digital‑first habits and a traditional, in‑person estate planning process can make it harder for some to get started creating their estate plan.

Practical Steps to Start Your Estate Plan

You don’t need to solve every estate planning issue at once. An effective estate plan can begin with a few core documents, then grow as your net worth and family responsibilities increase. Here are steps Gen X and Millennial investors can follow to organize their financial lives:

Step 1: Clarify your goals and family priorities

List who you want to protect, what you want to provide, and which values you want your wealth to support. Decide how you would like children to receive assets, including whether to stage distributions at specific ages or milestones.

Step 2: Take inventory of assets, debts, and beneficiaries

Create a complete inventory of your assets, liabilities, insurance, and key online accounts, including retirement plans, and equity compensation. Gather all account statements, documents, and agreements.

Step 3: Create a will

Most plans start with a will, a revocable living trust, and health care directives. For families with minor children, the will typically include guardian designations, while the trust outlines how and when assets are managed and distributed. However, most adults have not even started with basic estate planning; only four in ten Americans have a will. People often say they have neither enough time nor assets to justify a plan.

Step 4: Prepare a trust

A trust allows you to legally transfer ownership of your assets to a person or people you choose who will manage and distribute your assets according to your instructions, either during your lifetime or after your death. They help you manage how and when your children receive money and protect assets from probate. But most investors (87 percent) don’t have a trust.

Step 5: Add powers of attorney

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself. As you develop these documents, make sure your designated person knows how to access your bank accounts, investment funds,  retirement savings, and other key items. State who has the authority to manage your social media and online accounts.

Step 6: Consult experts

Having an advisory team— an estate planning attorney and accountant—with expertise in serving Gen X and Millennial clients can help you build a plan that works for your life stage and specific financial and family issues.

Frequently Asked Questions About Estate Planning for Millennials and Gen-Xers

At what net worth should I start estate planning?

You do not need to wait for a specific number. If you have minor children, own a home, expect an inheritance, or hold company stock options, you already have enough complexity to justify at least a basic will, powers of attorney, and beneficiary review. The earlier you start, the easier it is to add estate planning tools as your wealth grows.

Do I need a trust if I already have a will?

A will directs how your property is distributed at death, but it may still go through probate. A revocable living trust allows you to retain control of your  assets during your lifetime, provide privacy, and streamline or avoid probate for trust assets. Many Gen X and Millennial investors use wills and trusts together.

I’m a U.S. citizen living abroad. How does this impact my estate planning?

If you live abroad, hold foreign property, or have non‑U.S. family members, your estate plan must comply with the legal and tax requirements of the country or countries in which you hold property. Tax treaties, residency rules, and inheritance laws can impact your plans.

What role should philanthropy play in my family estate plan?

Charitable strategies such as donor‑advised funds, private foundations, and charitable trusts allow you to support causes you care about while managing taxes and sharing values with your children. Many Gen X and Millennial families use philanthropy to teach stewardship and create a shared long‑term family mission.

How often should I update my estate plan?

Many families create documents once and never update them. At a minimum, you should revisit your plan at year-end, or after major life events or changing circumstances. Regular reviews should cover beneficiary designations, guardian appointments, asset inventories, powers of attorney, and whether your documents still reflect your current wishes and family situation.

The Final Word on Estate Planning for Gen X and Millennials

Estate planning may seem daunting, but your plans don’t need to be perfect from the start. Begin with basic documents like a will and power of attorney, then expand your plan and strategy as your wealth and family grow. Working with an experienced and trusted advisor can ensure your family and loved ones are protected.

At Glassy Mountain Advisors, we help families achieve their dreams, enjoy their lives, and create lasting and meaningful legacies. Estate planning is one of our specialties.

As your investment partner, we look to guide, clarify, and empower you every step of the way. Ready to get started? We are here to help.

Schedule a complimentary financial planning discussion to review potential estate planning strategies that fit your investment objectives.

This material is for informational use only and should not be considered investment advice.

Glassy Mountain Advisors, Inc. is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about Glassy Mountain Advisors including our investment strategies, fees and objectives can be found in our ADV Part 2 and Form CRS, which is available upon request.