The Northwestern Mutual 2025 Legacy Study Finds 77% of Parents Involve Their Kids in Advisor Meetings

"Three in four parents, 77%, say they would feel comfortable formally including their teenage to young adult children in their annual meeting with a financial advisor. The reason most often cited is education. Parents want their kids in the room so they can learn the process before they ever have to live it."

"For decades, the cultural script around family money was to keep balances, wills, and intentions private until a death or a crisis pulled back the curtain. The data now suggests a different approach is taking hold: bring the next generation into the conversation while everyone is still healthy, still earning, and still able to ask questions out loud."

"39% of Gen Z expect to leave an inheritance, more than any other generation, while only 30% expect to receive one. Millennials show a similar tilt. Younger adults are treating legacy planning as an active responsibility rather than a passive event that might happen to them someday."

"Among Gen Z and Millennials expecting to receive an inheritance, 63% and 69%, respectively, say it is critical or highly critical to their long-term financial security, well above the 57% average across all generations. Younger Americans are viewing family wealth as a foundation. That framing changes the stakes of the advisor conversation."

77% of parents say they would feel comfortable formally including teenage to young adult children in annual meetings with a financial advisor, most often citing education. Cultural norms that kept family money private until death or crisis are shifting toward involving the next generation while families are healthy and able to ask questions. Gen Z shows the strongest expectation to leave an inheritance, with 39% expecting to leave and 30% expecting to receive. Millennials show a similar pattern. Among Gen Z and Millennials expecting to receive, 63% and 69% respectively rate inheritance as critical to long-term financial security, above the 57% average. Younger Americans view family wealth as a foundation, making advisor conversations central to whether planning holds up in practice.

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