Don’t leave your family guessing: How a financial professional can help you talk about finances with your family

Most families are pretty good at talking about a lot of things. Money—especially the big-picture stuff around retirement, legacy, and what happens if someone's health changes—tends to be the exception. Not because people don't care, but because it's hard to know where to start.

Avoiding these conversations, though, can leave families guessing about each other's wishes and scrambling to make decisions during an already difficult time. A recent Nationwide Retirement Institute® survey found that more than half of investors (53%) have talked with family members about planning for financial security in retirement in the past 12 months. Yet 47% have not, including 17% who say they don't think it's necessary¹. And retirement is just one piece of a much bigger conversation: one that should also include legacy goals, wealth transfer, healthcare wishes, and what you'd want for your family if circumstances suddenly changed.

If your family hasn't had an open conversation about finances yet, you're not alone. These discussions can feel awkward, even overwhelming. And with more wealth changing hands right now than at any other point in history, the stakes have never been higher.

But younger investors and financial professionals say they're ready to help. In fact, younger generations are increasingly eager to get everyone on the same page—and an experienced financial professional can help make that happen by facilitating the conversation, bridging different perspectives, and guiding your family toward a plan that works for everyone.

The next generation is ready to talk. Their parents? Not so much.

Not every family member comes to these conversations with the same comfort level, and that gap can matter more than people realize. Younger generations are largely ready and willing to talk. Our research found that 60% of Millennials would want their financial advisor to facilitate conversations with them and their family members about financial planning, compared to just 32% of Gen X and 16% of Baby Boomers. Older generations, however, tend to play these conversations much closer to the vest; nearly half of Boomers say they'd rather keep them private.

When family members are operating with such different levels of openness, it can lead to misaligned expectations, unspoken assumptions, and sometimes conflict, often at the exact moment when everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction.

A financial professional can help bridge that divide by setting the agenda, presenting options, and keeping the conversation focused on your family's financial goals.

Financial professionals are already at the table

Most financial professionals are already doing this work, and they've been doing it for a while. The same Nationwide Retirement Institute® survey found that 90% of financial professionals currently facilitate family financial planning conversations between aging clients and their adult children about retirement planning, healthcare costs, and financial security—including 43% who say it's a standard part of their practice. In other words, this isn't new territory for them.

And when it comes to navigating sensitive family conversations, 91% of financial professionals say they feel confident doing so. Which means that if you've been putting off a family discussion about finances because you weren't sure how to get started, a financial professional has likely already helped other families in exactly the same position — and can bring that same experience to yours.

How to talk about finances with your family

The hardest part of any difficult conversation is usually getting it going. That's especially true when money is involved. Start small and pick one topic: how you're thinking about retirement savings, what matters most to you as you age, or how you'd want decisions made if your health changed. One honest conversation has a way of opening the door to more.

And the sooner those conversations happen, the better. When a parent or loved one who has always been the family's financial anchor is no longer able to manage their own finances or care for themselves, families who already have a roadmap in place are more likely to honor that person's wishes when the time comes to make important decisions on their behalf.

A good starting point is to put some basic information in writing so the right people can find it when they need it, such as:

• Key financial accounts and how to access them
• Important documents, including your will, insurance policies, and power of attorney
• Who you'd want to step in to help manage things if needed, and what authority they would require

From there, schedule a dedicated family discussion that covers these and other essential points that may need to be passed on. Our research points to several topics worth addressing:

• Retirement goals and savings plans
• Caregiving considerations and health and long-term care preferences
• End of life conversations, including asset transfer intentions and legacy goals

Don't wait for a crisis like a health scare or family emergency to start the conversation. Communicating candidly before circumstances force the issue gives everyone time to ask questions, share concerns, and get comfortable with the plan.

How a financial professional can help

Bringing a financial professional for families into these conversations adds a layer of structure and objectivity that's hard to replicate on your own. They can help by building a comprehensive plan tailored to your family's specific situation—one that factors in taxes, inflation, and market conditions alongside your personal goals and values.

A financial professional can also help family members understand what's expected of them and make sure everyone is clear on next steps. And as changes happen—new tax laws, market ups and downs, shifting family dynamics—a financial professional can help you revisit and refine the plan along the way.

Our research found nearly 68% of investors are actively transferring or planning to transfer wealth. The conversations your family has now can mean the difference between your loved ones knowing exactly what to do and having to figure it out on their own when the time comes to make critical wealth transfer planning decisions.

The best time to start wealth transfer planning is now

The largest wealth transfer in history is already underway, and families across the country are navigating decisions that will ripple through generations. Putting off family financial planning conversations doesn't make them easier—it just means having them under circumstances no one would choose.

Consider initiating open, honest conversations about money, legacy, and what you want for your family sooner than later. It’s one of the most meaningful things you can do for the people you love and for the future you've worked hard to build.

A financial professional can support you in taking that first step, and every step after it, to help you and your family reach your wealth transfer planning goals.