Feb 6, 2026
Adult children don’t like to think of themselves as “kids.” Many have careers, mortgages, families and responsibilities of their own. But when it comes to money, especially an inheritance, a surprising number of parents still aren’t convinced their adult children are ready.
While most adult children (95%) believe they’re ready to manage an inheritance, a quarter (25%) of parents disagree. According to the Fidelity Investments’ 2025 Family and Finance Study, 40% of parents don’t think their children can manage debt and 43% don’t think they can stick to a budget (1).
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Here’s why there’s such a big disconnect, and how parents and children can start talking about managing an inheritance.
Avoiding uncomfortable conversations can be costly
Whether they hold these beliefs or not, this gap in perceived readiness is likely due to poor communication between generations. While virtually all respondents (97%) in the Fidelity study believe it’s important to talk about estate planning, 68% of parents haven’t told their children what they’ll inherit and more than half (52%) haven’t discussed net worth with their children (1).
This might be due, in part, to lack of planning, since only 70% of parents say they’ve created a will and estate plan (1).
What might make communication such a struggle is that talking about inheritance can be a difficult conversation. More than half of Americans (54%) across all generations are hesitant to talk about end-of-life plans because it makes them uncomfortable. About a third (34%) don’t know where to start, while a similar number (32%) are afraid of upsetting or worrying family members, according to a study by Western & Southern Financial Group (2).
But miscommunication can lead to poor planning or mismanagement of inherited funds — and the financial costs could be substantial. After all, an estimated $72.6 trillion in assets will be transferred to heirs through 2045, according to a report from Cerulli Associates (3).
For example, heirs could be blindsided by large tax bills or face excessive fees and delays as assets are tied up in probate.
Despite this large transfer of wealth, some families have little net worth to pass on. If children aren’t made aware of this, but are expecting an inheritance (which they’ve worked into their own financial planning for retirement), then this could cause undue hardship — all of which could have been avoided with better communication.
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How to start talking about inheritance
All should have end-of-life conversations, since children who are in the dark about their inheritance can’t make informed decisions when planning their own future. More than half of children (56%) want to know how much they’ll inherit, but 35% of parents don’t want to tell them, according to the Fidelity survey (1).
Issues can also arise when assets aren’t divided equally among children. In this case, it may be best to explain your reasoning to them while you’re still alive.
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It’s also a good idea to involve your family in end-of-life planning if you run a business, and if not all children are equally involved. You may need to explore multiple scenarios, which could include selling the business or creating voting and non-voting shares so active and inactive siblings each have a share but different levels of control over the business.
Beyond your estate, it’s also important to discuss end-of-life care such as who will have power-of-attorney. This can be particularly hard to discuss, but it will be worse for everyone involved if you’re physically or mentally incapacitated and there’s no plan in place.
Fidelity advises starting these conversations early, clearly documenting your healthcare and financial wishes and engaging your family in the planning process, even if you choose not to disclose your final decisions (1).
You’ll want to choose the right time and place for a family meeting (gatherings like Thanksgiving may not be best) or, in some cases, you might prefer to have these conversations one-on-one.
Don’t forget the more mundane (but essential) details, such as informing your family where your documents are stored and providing contact details for your lawyer, accountant and financial advisor. These conversations may be difficult and awkward, but they can help you leave a legacy beyond your assets.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Fidelity (1); Western & South Financial Group (2); Cerulli Associates (3)
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Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who has been covering tech, business, finance and travel for the past three decades. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, Metro News, Canadian Geographic, Zoomer, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine, Flare and Consumer Reports, to name a few.
