For many people, legacy immediately brings to mind money. How do you define legacy today?
Yes, when people hear the word legacy, they often associate it with wealth. Many clients build wealth to achieve, and the phrase “leaving a legacy” comes up frequently. For some, legacy means making a positive impact—supporting causes they care about and contributing to their communities. For others, it’s about carrying a vision forward: ensuring the next generation has the commitment, structure, and guidance to continue building what the prior generation worked so hard to create.
You’ve worked with so many successful families. What are the common qualities you see in families that sustain wealth across generations?
Families are often most successful sustaining wealth across generations when they are aligned around shared values and have open, effective communication. We help families articulate what they stand for. Many families start with a mission statement that captures their shared values, and the kind of legacy they want to pass on. We can then help build processes like family meetings and decision-making frameworks around the mission. The conversations and discussion around the mission will reduce conflict, and including the next generation early helps them understand the rationale behind decisions and how they are made. Good consistent communication within a family is what we often see in families who have success in generational wealth transfer.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about estate and legacy planning?
The assumption is that estate and legacy planning is mainly about tax savings, and tax efficiency is an important objective—but the process really starts with clarifying your goals, your values, and where you want your wealth to go next. Intentional planning helps align the right techniques and structures to your financial position and the vision that’s driven your success. For example, a trust may be designed to support tax-efficient wealth transfer, but it also provides instructions for how assets are managed and distributed—so it’s just as important to communicate the intent behind those decisions as it is to put the documents in place.
How have conversations around wealth changed over the last decade?
We have seen wealth conversations shift from being primarily about products and performance to being much more centered on planning—clarifying goals, defining the outcomes you want, and making frequent updates as markets, life events, and family dynamics evolve. We’re also seeing many families—often led by matriarchs and patriarchs—become more open and intentional about discussing wealth not just with professional advisors, but with the family members who may be affected by it now or in the future. And there’s a growing focus on engaging and preparing the next generation early, so they understand the “why” behind key decisions, align around shared values, and think thoughtfully about the impact their wealth can have.
Many affluent families struggle to talk openly about money. Why do you think these conversations can be so difficult?
I think people avoid talking about money because of social conditioning, talking about money has been considered ‘impolite’ or in some cases an unnecessary ‘flex’. Discussions about money can give people anxiety. People fear being judged or they feel a lack of confidence in their understanding of finances, or they feel inadequate or even guilty when the discussion of money and wealth comes up.
What is your advice for handling those tough conversations?
It helps to start money conversations early—and keep them going—so wealth doesn’t become a taboo topic, and the next generation can develop context for what it means, not just what it can buy. Rather than focusing on “how much,” we can focus on the responsibilities, obligations and challenges that come with wealth: why your family values it, how it was built, what was learned along the way, and what you want to accomplish with it going forward. Approached as an ongoing conversation helps younger family members see wealth as something to be stewarded with purpose—reflecting shared values, strengthening family bonds, and supporting positive impact in the wider community.
What role do values play in preserving a family’s legacy?
I mentioned that many families will create a family mission statement. The mission statement is where a family will define who they are as a family. Included in the statement are shared values, vision for the future, and the history. Families who get the most from a mission statement are the ones who revisit it regularly, ask whether it still reflects what they believe, and use it to help them stay aligned over time. The mission should be shared across generations grounding decisions in a shared purpose, creating a stronger framework for preserving what matters most and sustaining your legacy over time.
Beyond financial assets, what are some of the most meaningful things families pass down to future generations?
I’m most impressed by the families who pass down a genuine sense of pride in their history—and a shared understanding that wealth comes with responsibility. They don’t just focus on preserving assets; they prepare the next generation to be thoughtful stewards of the family’s future and to use their resources in ways that strengthen not only the family, but also the broader community. The discussions about financial standing and future are often and they involve multiple generations.
How are younger generations approaching wealth differently than their parents or grandparents?
We’re seeing many younger family members approach wealth with a real sense of responsibility—they want to build financial confidence, ask informed questions, and understand how their family’s wealth, trusts, and decision-making structures work. The goal is to help them gain the financial literacy and experience to participate more actively in family discussions, clarify how an inheritance is structured and when they’ll have control, and understand roles like the trustee—so succession is a process they’re prepared for, not an event they’re surprised by.
When you look ahead, how do you think the concept of legacy will continue to evolve?
As people become more proactive about estate planning, they often realize they can help shape their legacy on their own terms—by putting the right documents and structures in place and, just as importantly, keeping an open dialogue with the people who matter most. Since a legacy can include more than who receives what (for example, supporting the next generation, philanthropic goals, and maintaining family harmony), many families choose to clarify these priorities early and revisit them over time, bringing multiple generations into the conversation so everyone stays aligned as life evolves.
Disclosures:
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning, charitable giving, philanthropic planning and other legal matters. The appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives.
Sydney Sadick
