A Baby Boomer’s Guide to Passing Down Wealth for Families
Over the next couple of decades, millions of baby boomers will be passing down their wealth to children, grandchildren, and even charities. While headlines often focus on billionaires leaving fortunes to their heirs, the reality is that most wealth transfers will involve smaller estates — homes, savings, retirement accounts, and personal items valued at under $1 million.
Even though these estates fall far below the federal estate tax limit, proper planning is still essential. Without clear direction, even modest inheritances can lead to family disagreements, unnecessary legal expenses, or missed opportunities to preserve value.
If you’re a baby boomer thinking about how to pass down what you’ve worked hard to build, this guide is for you.
Smaller Estates Still Need a Plan
Even if you’re passing down assets worth a few hundred thousand dollars — a house, a retirement account, and some savings — you still need a plan. Probate, taxes, outdated wills, and lack of communication can all create unnecessary headaches for your heirs.
Without a clear roadmap, your family may end up stuck in expensive legal processes, unable to access accounts, or even arguing over sentimental heirlooms. By preparing now, you can protect your legacy and make sure your assets go where you intend.
Key concerns for smaller estates:
- Avoiding probate court delays and fees
- Ensuring assets go directly to heirs
- Documenting personal wishes for sentimental items
- Minimizing confusion over handling retirement accounts and property sales
Open Conversations Make All the Difference
One of the best gifts you can give your family isn’t money — it’s clarity. Many families avoid talking about inheritance because they worry it’s uncomfortable. But a simple, open conversation can prevent years of confusion or hurt feelings later.
Even if you’re leaving behind a modest home and a savings account, your family deserves to know your wishes. Talking through your plans reduces guesswork and allows you to explain why you’re making the choices you are. A clear conversation also helps avoid assumptions that can lead to conflict, especially if your kids have different expectations.
Topics to cover in a family discussion:
- Who will inherit the home, and whether you expect it to be sold or kept in the
family - How bank accounts, retirement accounts, and personal belongings will be
divided - Whether you’ve already set aside money for funeral expenses
- Who you’ve named to handle your affairs and why
Wills Aren’t Enough — Beneficiary Designations Matter
Even if you’ve written a will, some assets pass directly to beneficiaries outside of that document. This is especially true for retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and certain types of bank or brokerage accounts. If you haven’t updated your beneficiary designations in years, your money could go to an ex-spouse or even the wrong family member.
For many families with estates under $1 million, these beneficiary forms are the single most important estate planning document you have.
Assets that pass through beneficiary designations:
- IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement accounts
- Life insurance policies
- Payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
- Transfer-on-death (TOD) investment accounts
Steps to take now:
- Review all your beneficiary designations.
- Make sure they reflect your current wishes.
- Avoid naming minors directly — they’ll need a guardian to access funds.
Consider a Living Trust to Simplify the Process
Probate — the court process for settling an estate — can be time-consuming and expensive, even for smaller estates. A simple living trust can help your heirs avoid probate altogether, allowing them to receive their inheritance faster and with fewer legal fees.
Living trusts aren’t just for the wealthy. They’re especially helpful if you own real estate or want to leave assets to multiple heirs with minimal complications. A trust gives you more control over how and when assets are distributed, without court involvement.
Benefits of a living trust for modest estates:
- Avoids probate for real estate and financial accounts
- Allows for easy distribution of assets to multiple heirs
- Keeps your estate plan private (wills become public record in probate)
- Provides flexibility to handle changing family dynamics
Sentimental Items Often Cause the Biggest Problems
For many families, the most emotional disputes aren’t over money — they’re over personal items. A parent’s wedding ring, a family Bible, or a piece of furniture can hold deep sentimental value. If you don’t document your wishes, siblings may end up fighting over who gets what, even if the financial value is minor.
Take the time to write down who you want to receive specific items. If certain items have particular meaning to you, share those stories with your heirs so they understand the importance.
How to handle personal items:
- Create a list specifying who receives which items.
- Explain the sentimental significance of key items in a letter or video.
- Encourage your children to discuss and agree on the division of personal property in advance.
Don’t Forget Your Digital Life
In today’s world, your online accounts are part of your legacy too. Whether it’s family photos stored in the cloud or online bank accounts, your heirs will need access to your digital life. Without passwords or account information, they may struggle to locate and access key accounts.
Digital assets to document:
- Email accounts
- Online banking and investment portals
- Social media profiles
- Digital photo storage accounts
- Subscriptions and automatic payments
Steps to take:
- Create a list of online accounts with usernames and passwords.
- Store this securely, and let a trusted family member know where to find it.
- Specify what you want done with social media profiles and online accounts.
Planning for Retirement Accounts — Inheritance Rules Have Changed
Many baby boomers hold a large portion of their wealth in retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s. When these accounts pass to your children, the rules for withdrawing the money have changed.
Under current laws, non-spouse heirs typically must withdraw all funds within 10 years — accelerating taxes on that money. This change makes planning even more important, especially if you want to minimize taxes for your heirs.
Options to consider:
- Converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs to provide tax-free withdrawals.
- Spreading smaller inherited accounts among multiple heirs.
- Setting clear instructions on how and when to withdraw funds.
Keep Your Plan Simple and Clear
The best estate plans — especially for smaller estates — are simple, clear, and easy to follow. If your plan is too complex or involves unclear instructions, you increase the risk of confusion, legal disputes, and unnecessary stress for your heirs.
Work with a trusted estate planning professional to create a straightforward plan, and communicate it to your family. The fewer surprises, the smoother the transition will be.
Final checklist for passing down modest wealth:
- Update your will and beneficiary designations.
- Consider a living trust for real estate and financial accounts.
- Document your wishes for sentimental items.
- Provide access to digital accounts and online financial information.
- Communicate your wishes to your heirs — early and often.
Strategic Advisor Network Is Here to Help
If you’re ready to create a practical, cost-effective estate plan for passing down your hard-earned assets, Strategic Advisor Network is here to help. We specialize in helping families with smaller estates create clear, conflict-free plans that preserve wealth and family harmony.
Let’s Do This — Contact Strategic Advisor Network Today to Get Started!
Intermountain Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). The company manages several fee-based portfolios comprised of various equity and fixed-income investments that may include mutual funds and exchange traded funds. This is not a prospectus or an offer to sell any security. Please read the prospectus of any investment before you invest. Information included here is intended for education and information purposes only.
