One of the benefits of working with a financial planner over the course of your lifetime is the relationship you can develop with them. Over time, you can each learn more about what you are striving to achieve with your wealth. Consequently, you can make sensible decisions that take you closer to your goals.
As your relationship with your planner develops, it can be helpful to introduce them to your family too, in particular your adult children. With so many of the decisions you make with your planner potentially affecting their financial future, would you invite your children to join your meetings?
Read on to discover three benefits that could sway your decision.
1. Teach your children the fundamentals of sensible money management
Financial planning, first and foremost, is all about making the most sensible money decisions for you. It’s about taking a holistic view of your finances and your lifestyle so that you can work towards the goals you have for your future.
By including your children in these discussions, you can help them to take a similar approach to their own money. Whether they want to get onto the property ladder, start investing, or simply improve their standard of living, it all starts with the basics, including:
- Budgeting
- Understanding taxes
- Putting the right types of financial protection in place.
The discussions you’ll involve your children in during these meetings could help to put solid foundations in place for the rest of their lives. In doing so, you can feel confident that they will be well-placed to build a financially secure future for themselves.
2. Help your children to understand your plans for the future
Money and inheritance can sometimes be thought of as a taboo subject, and many people never discover what their parents’ wishes are until after they have passed away.
While this can be uncomfortable to talk about, avoiding the subject can sometimes do more harm than good. It can mean that your children make assumptions about what they might inherit from you and what your wishes might be.
If their assumptions turn out to be wrong, this can lead to tension between family members, financial strain, and even costly delays if they decide to contest your will.
You can help to reduce the risk of any of these outcomes by having open and honest conversations with your children about your wishes. Ideally you’ll talk about this whenever you update your will or estate plan so that everyone who needs to be is in the know.
Read more: 4 great reasons to talk to your adult children about money
3. Keep wealth in the family by helping them to find expert guidance
The Singapore Management University has reported research findings that suggest 7 out of 10 wealthy families lose their fortune over the course of just two generations, while 9 in 10 lose it by the third generation.
These stats may sound frightening, but by including your children in your financial planning meetings, you could help them to make responsible decisions about your family’s wealth.
In addition, encouraging your children to have a relationship with your financial planner early on could mean that they decide to continue working with them. This can be a great way for them to keep accumulating wealth under the guidance of an expert – particularly one who can offer continuity from working with you.
This may be especially helpful during times of change for your children, such as when they inherit after your death. With the help of a planner who is familiar with your assets and wishes, your children could find it much more straightforward to make the required arrangements.
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out how we can support you and your family with a bespoke financial plan that grows your wealth and helps you to achieve your long-term goals, please get in touch.
Either contact your financial planner directly, email us at hello@ascentawealth.com or fill in our online contact form to organise a meeting and we’ll get in touch.
