Transferring wealth isn’t just about money changing hands. It’s about power, control, identity, and values moving from one generation to the next. For high-net-worth families, that process isn’t just personal—it’s operational. You’re managing family businesses, complex trusts, layered ownership structures, and people who aren’t always aligned.
Most families think they’re prepared because they have documents in place.
Wills. Trusts. Insurance. Corporate minutes.
But those are just pieces of paper.
What’s often missing is the bigger picture: A shared understanding of how everything fits together, why it exists, who’s responsible, and what comes next.
This checklist was built from real-world experience working with families managing complex legacies. Whether you’re just starting to plan or deeply embedded in estate strategies, it will help you identify blind spots, sharpen your thinking, and better prepare your family—not just your assets—for what’s ahead.
1. Take a True Inventory of What You Own
A balance sheet isn’t enough. You need an inventory of ownership, control, and relationships.
- Catalog all assets: public and private investments, operating companies, real estate, collectibles, insurance, digital assets, intellectual property, and any holdings with complex valuation.
- For each asset, record ownership structure, location, control, cash flow implications, and any agreements in place (e.g., buy-sells, management rights, GP/LP structures).
- Highlight complexity: GP/LP structures, offshore trusts, private placements, pooled entities, QSubs, disregarded entities.
- Note which assets are held in trust, and under what terms.
2. Define the Real Goals of Your Wealth Transfer
Clarity of intention precedes clarity of strategy.
- Are you trying to preserve capital, grow it, or use it for impact?
- What obligations or implicit promises exist—spoken or unspoken—between generations?
- How do you balance fairness with stewardship?
- If you own a family business, what’s more important: continuity, control, or liquidity?
Write this down, share it, and revisit it annually.
3. Review (and Stress Test) Estate Planning Documents
Legal documents are only as good as the alignment behind them.
- Ensure your wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations are not only current—but coordinated.
- Review power of attorney, healthcare proxies, letters of wishes, and any informal side agreements.
- Ask what happens in these scenarios?
- Divorce of a key heir
- Sudden death of a trustee
- Sale of an LP interest held in trust
- Long-term incapacity of a matriarch or patriarch
- Resignation of a GP or business operator
- IRS audit of family foundation or estate
Have your documents been reviewed in light of current tax law? Have they been integrated into your overall strategy—or are they siloed by attorney or advisor?
4. Understand the Tax Landscape—Now and Later
The real cost of inaction is often measured in taxes and missed opportunities.
- Map out estate tax exposure under current law. Model different scenarios: death in 1 year, 10 years, or after major liquidity events.
- Understand generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes and how they apply to your structures.
- Consider gifting strategies that reduce your estate while retaining control (e.g., GRATs, FLPs, IDGTs).
- Coordinate trust distributions, charitable giving, and insurance with your broader liquidity strategy.
5. Centralize All Key Documents and Access Credentials
If something happened tomorrow, who would know where to find what?
- Collect estate documents, trust agreements, business operating agreements, insurance policies, corporate records, bank account access, and financial statements.
- Digitize and store in a secure, centralized location with access controls.
- Don’t forget digital accounts, family office portals, private equity dashboards, and cryptocurrency keys.
- Who can access what? Who knows how to use what they have access to?
- Ensure your family knows how to find and act on the plan—not just that it exists.
6. Define Roles and Responsibilities—Beyond Titles
If everyone’s responsible, no one is.
- Identify key decision-makers in your estate, trusts, business, and philanthropic structures.
- Define who’s responsible for what: trustees, general partners, directors, managers, protectors, grantors, and beneficiaries.
- Document roles clearly. Assume nothing. Clarity now prevents chaos later.
7. Build a Succession Plan for the Family Business
This is often where planning breaks down.
- Identify mission-critical roles that need succession—both operational and governance.
- Evaluate internal talent. Where is mentorship needed? Where is external recruiting the better option?
- Create a plan for emergency leadership (short-term) and strategic succession (long-term).
- Ensure ownership succession (equity) is aligned with leadership succession (management). These are not the same thing.
8. Align Your Advisors—and Make the Invisible Visible
Most families work with great advisors who don’t talk to each other.
- Map your entire advisory team: estate attorneys, tax advisors, investment managers, insurance brokers, business counsel, philanthropic consultants, etc.
- Create a system of communication and collaboration—especially when plans cross domains.
- Establish a “quarterback” role, whether it’s a family member, trusted advisor, or dedicated family office professional.
- Does anyone understand everything?
9. Engage the Next Generation Early
You can’t expect good decisions from people you haven’t prepared.
- Begin age-appropriate education early: budgeting, investing, governance, philanthropy, and decision-making.
- Involve them in real conversations, not just theoretical ones.
- Consider a family council or board structure to foster collaboration and shared leadership.
- Clearly define rights, responsibilities, and expectations before transitions occur.
- Are rising gen members aware of the roles they’re being prepared for—or do they suspect?
10. Hold Structured Family Meetings
Communication doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.
- Set a regular cadence—annually, semi-annually, quarterly—based on complexity.
- Create agendas in advance and rotate leadership to build engagement.
- Use meetings to review plans, address concerns, revisit goals, and reinforce values.
- Most important: create a forum where family members feel safe speaking candidly.
Learn More about Family Meetings, Here.
11. Schedule Annual Reviews
Wealth transfer is not a one-and-done event—it’s a living process.
- Update your inventory, legal docs, succession plans, and goals annually—or after any major life change.
- Reassess liquidity needs, tax exposure, and advisor performance.
- Ask yourself: if we had to execute our full plan tomorrow, would we be proud of it?
12. Use Technology That Makes Complexity Visible
Complexity isn’t the problem. Opacity is.
- Use tools that help you see ownership, roles, transitions, and dependencies clearly.
- Connect people to responsibilities—and ensure they understand them.
- Create a digital “owner’s manual” for your family enterprise: what exists, who’s involved, what happens next.
13. Leverage leafplanner
Information is not enough. You need context, control, and communication.
leafplanner was built for the families that manage complexity—not avoid it.
leafplanner gives you a complete picture of your family enterprise: assets, structures, people, and plans—organized, visualized, and shareable. With our platform, you can:
- Centralize critical information and documents in a secure, private environment
- Visualize ownership, roles, and succession pathways
- Share access—with precision—with family, advisors, and operators
- Identify gaps in planning before they become problems
- Preserve the wisdom behind your wealth, not just the capital
It’s more than a digital vault. It’s a tool for organizing your legacy—and ensuring it lasts.
Every successful family reaches a moment.
A moment when one generation steps back—and the next steps forward.
The question isn’t whether you’ve built wealth.
It’s whether you’ve built something that will last.
Start with this checklist. See where your family stands. Then build the plan that matches your ambition.
