Legacy Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals

When you’ve spent years building and preserving your wealth, it’s important to think about what you want that wealth to accomplish – both during your retirement and for the people and causes you care about after you’ve passed.

Legacy planning can be complicated for anyone, but it may involve additional considerations for those with a high net worth. Your retirement income, investments, taxes, estate plan, and wishes for your family can all play a role.

Here are a few things to consider when thinking about your legacy as a high-net-worth individual.

What do you want your legacy to accomplish?

Legacy planning involves much more than naming beneficiaries.

You may want to provide for your spouse throughout retirement, help children or grandchildren reach important milestones, support organizations that are meaningful to you, or preserve your wealth for future generations.

While family conversations about money and the future aren’t always easy, openly communicating your wishes can help the people closest to you better understand your decisions.

Is your legacy aligned with your retirement plan?

Retirement planning and legacy planning often go hand in hand.

As you enter and move through retirement, you’ll make decisions about how and when to use different assets. You may have traditional and Roth retirement accounts, taxable investments, real estate, business interests, insurance policies, or other assets.

How you draw from those resources can affect your current financial situation, as well as the assets you may eventually leave to future generations. Consider both short-term and long-term needs.

The first priority, however, is making sure your assets continue to support the retirement you envision. From there, you can consider how the wealth you may not need during your lifetime fits into your larger legacy plan.

Does a trust fit into your estate plan?

Depending on your circumstances, you may want to discuss trusts and other estate planning strategies with your estate planning attorney and financial advisor. A revocable living trust, for example, allows you to maintain control of certain assets during your lifetime while providing instructions for how those assets should be managed or distributed later.

Different types of trusts also fit more specific circumstances, such as providing for a family member with special needs, supporting charitable goals, or planning for future generations.

How taxes fit into your legacy plan

Taxes are a major consideration when legacy planning, especially with high net worth.

As of 2026, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $15 million per individual, while the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient. These amounts can change over time, making it important to review your plan as tax laws and your financial circumstances change.

There may also be tax considerations associated with the types of assets you leave behind. Retirement accounts, investments, real estate, and other property can be treated differently for tax purposes when transferred to beneficiaries.

For high-net-worth families, considering these factors before transferring assets may create more opportunities to coordinate retirement, tax, and estate planning decisions.

Make sure your legacy plan is regularly updated.

Your finances, family, retirement needs, tax laws, and priorities can all change. A legacy plan that made sense several years ago may no longer reflect where you are today or what you want for the future.

Major life events can be a good reason to revisit your plan, but regular reviews can also help make sure your beneficiary designations, estate documents, retirement strategy, and broader financial plan continue to work together.

Legacy Planning for High-Net-Worth Individuals with Chatterton & Associates

Legacy planning can be complicated, and it can help to discuss it with a coordinated planning team that includes your financial advisor, tax professional, and estate planning attorney.

Whether you’re preparing for retirement, already enjoying it, or beginning to think more seriously about what you want your wealth to accomplish for future generations, we’re here to help you look at the bigger picture.

At Chatterton & Associates, we can help coordinate your wealth, retirement, tax, and estate planning strategies so your financial plan supports both the life you want to live and the legacy you want to leave.

Contact us today to start a conversation about your retirement and legacy planning.