The Quiet Work of Legacy — Getting the Next Generation Involved

In many ultra-high-net-worth families, legacy is preserved in vaults of paper—trust documents, mission statements, investment memos. But legacy isn’t built on paper alone. It’s built on people. And too often, the people meant to carry it forward—the next generation—feel left out of the conversation entirely.

This image, with its leather-bound journals and gold pens, is more than aesthetic. It’s symbolic. Because the next chapter of your family’s story can’t be written unless the next generation picks up the pen.

Here are three foundational principles for beginning that process:

1.

Start with Listening, Not Lecturing

Younger generations don’t need a lecture in financial theory. They need to feel seen and understood. Before talking about capital preservation or governance models, start by asking: What matters to you? Their values, dreams, and anxieties are the raw material from which true stewardship can be built.

Invite them to reflect on what they’ve observed about the family—what they admire, what they wonder about, and what they might do differently. Legacy is stronger when it’s co-authored.

2.

Make the Invisible Visible

We often assume that younger family members will “absorb” the family’s values or philosophies by osmosis. But just like wealth, values need to be clearly articulated and intentionally transferred.

Show them the playbook. Share stories about how your family made key decisions. Open up about past mistakes, not just triumphs. Walk them through how a family foundation grant was made or why a particular investment was chosen. When you make the invisible visible, you make the complex human—and teachable.

3.

Let Them Own a Page

If legacy is a book, they need a chapter. Not a footnote.

Create low-risk opportunities for them to lead—a donor-advised fund they control, a family podcast they host, a project they co-design with a grandparent. The key isn’t control; it’s contribution. When they see that their voice matters, they’re far more likely to stay in the room for the harder conversations ahead.