You’ve spent years helping clients build wealth, prepare for retirement, and think through estate and legacy decisions. But when that wealth eventually passes on to the next generation, will those relationships stay with you? Maybe. But trust isn’t part of their inheritance. In fact, 43% of next-gen heirs plan to leave their parents’ financial professional. ¹

Many have never built a relationship with the financial professional who helped their parents manage that wealth. Building that relationship now gives you a chance to earn their trust before the transition happens.

1. Prepare the People Who Will Carry Out the Plan

   One of the most effective ways to build trust with the next generation is to involve them in the planning that will eventually affect them. When heirs understand both the plan and the purpose behind it, they’re better prepared for future responsibilities and more likely to view you as a trusted resource.
    

   Start With Values, Not Numbers
   Many clients are uneasy talking with their kids about money, but the first conversation doesn’t need any dollar figures. Offer to host a family dinner and have your client send the invitation. Bring a list of 20 or so values, such as family, security, adventure, independence, education, and helping others. Ask everyone to pick their top three and explain why they chose them. Your client goes first. Your job is to ask questions and listen.
   
   

   Walk Through the Estate Plan Together
   For select clients who have estate plans in place, consider a meeting with your client, the estate attorney, and the adult children or executor. Cover where the documents are, who to call, and how the plan works. Talk with your client beforehand about what they’re comfortable sharing. You can explain strategies and roles without revealing dollar amounts. It’s also a natural moment to ask whether adult children have their own wills and powers of attorney.
   
   

   Capture the Story Behind the Wealth
   Suggest that clients record a short video or write a letter about what their wealth means to them. A few prompts can help: How did you build it? What values guided you? How would you like your family to honor your legacy? One of my clients planned to leave half her wealth to charity and wanted her family to understand why. Her message let her explain it in her own words.

    

2. Turn Introductions into Relationships

   Building individual relationships with every client’s children and grandchildren would be overwhelming, especially when the effort may provide little immediate payoff. But you can start with a small group of families where the assets, family needs, and long-term opportunity make the additional time worthwhile.
   
   

   Listen for Opportunities to Help
   Your regular client meetings can help you learn what’s happening in the lives of their children and grandchildren. Clients may not bring these situations up on their own, so ask:

   • What’s new with your children and grandchildren?

   • Are any of them going through a major life or financial transition?

   • What financial decisions are they facing right now?

   Listen for challenges such as buying a home, saving for children’s education, changing careers, or balancing several financial priorities at once.

   When an opportunity comes up, make a specific offer. Instead of saying, “Have your daughter call me sometime,” try: “If she’d find it helpful, I’d be happy to spend 30 minutes helping her think through the financial side of buying a home.” A clear, relevant offer gives your client a natural reason to make the introduction and gives the family member a reason to accept it.
   
   

   Make the First Conversation Easy
   A cup of coffee or short video call can make the introduction feel helpful rather than like a sales pitch. Focus on the issue that prompted the conversation, answer questions, and give the family member a comfortable way to get to know you and your team.

   If your practice has a younger financial professional, consider involving that person, too. Shared life experiences may help create a natural connection while giving the family member access to the knowledge and resources of your broader team.
   
   

   Reduce Barriers to Becoming a Client
   Some of these family members may eventually want to work with you. Don’t let your usual requirements get in the way. Consider whether family-based fee exceptions or reduced minimums would make sense. They may not meet your standard requirements today, but they could build wealth of their own and may eventually inherit assets you already manage.

    

3. Bring Client Families Into Your Practice

   Not every relationship begins with a planning conversation. Sometimes it starts with a shared experience.

   Creating opportunities for families to interact with you outside of a formal meeting can help transform you from a name they’ve heard into someone they actually know.
   
   

   Host a Kids and Grandkids Day
   One of my favorite ideas is a “Bring Your Kids and Grandkids to the Practice” day. Plan activities like an office scavenger hunt, meet-the-team bingo, or a decorate-your-own piggy bank station. The kids will have a blast. Meanwhile, you get relaxed time with their parents, your clients’ adult children, who are the people you really want to get to know.

   Afterward, send each family a few photos and a quick thank-you note. Let the parents know you’re happy to help with questions about saving for college, buying a home, or other financial decisions. You’re not looking for immediate business. You’re becoming someone they can turn to when those questions come up.
   
   

   Meet Families Outside the Office
   Not every practice will host a kids and grandkids day, and that’s okay. The bigger idea is to create an experience that gives clients’ families a reason to spend time with you and your team.

   Consider hosting a family night at a minor league baseball game, reserving a miniature golf course, organizing a family volunteer day at a food bank, or holding a seasonal gathering such as pumpkin painting or ice skating. Keep it fun and low pressure. You’re not trying to talk investments between innings. You’re simply becoming someone the family knows, not just a name they hear from their parents or grandparents.
   
   

   Why These Connections Matter
   These experiences show clients that you care about more than their portfolios. They also give children and grandchildren a chance to become familiar with you before an inheritance, estate settlement, or other major financial decision brings them into your office. That familiarity may be the first step toward earning their trust.

   Of course, meeting someone over miniature golf doesn’t make them a future client. But it can open the door. From there, you can look for family members who may benefit from a deeper relationship with you and your team.
   
   

   “Won’t my clients’ children/heirs naturally stay with the practice?”
   Maybe. Maybe not. Next-gen heirs are almost evenly split: 42% plan to stay with their parents’ financial professional, 43% plan to leave, and 16% aren’t sure.¹ That’s basically a coin flip. The heirs who stay tell us what tips the odds: 53% credit great communication from their parents’ financial professional.¹ Every idea in this article is a way to start that communication early, while your clients are still here to make the introductions. Their trust won’t pass to their heirs automatically, but you can start earning it now.

   You don’t have to do it all at once. Start with one family, one conversation, and build from there.

To Summarize

First, focus on values, not numbers. When heirs understand the purpose behind the plan, they’re better prepared to carry it out and more likely to stay with the person who helped build it. Second, be specific. An offer to help with a real decision, such as buying a home, gets much further than “Have your daughter call me sometime.” Third, host a family event, such as a kids and grandkids day or a night at the ballpark, and remember this is FUN, not FUND. The goal is to become someone the family knows, not just a name they’ve heard.

Next step

Make a list of five client families you want to focus on. For each family, identify one opportunity to deepen the relationship based on their goals and life stage, whether that’s helping with a home purchase, education planning, career transitions, or bringing generations together through a client event. Then choose one new action you can take with each family to provide value and strengthen the connection.