‘Giving while living’ is on the rise, but many advisors still need to have difficult conversations

High-net-worth individuals are increasingly inclined to share their wealth before they die, or “giving while living,” a new study says, while warning of a legacy planning “demand gap.”

The research, which was released this week by estate planning technology firm Wealth.com and The Compound Insights, the research arm of Ritholtz Wealth Management affiliate The Compound Media, surveyed more than 400 financial advisors and was conducted between November 26 and December 21, 2025.

The “Living Legacies: How ‘Giving While Living’ and Family-Wide Planning Are Rewiring Advisory Growth,” study found that, on average, 46 percent of advisors’ clients who intend to pass on their assets plan to share a portion of their wealth during their lifetimes. This figure rose to 55 percent among clients with assets totaling more than $25 million. Set against this backdrop, the report notes that “giving while living” has gone mainstream among affluent families.

“Families increasingly want their wealth to be experienced, not just transferred,” Wealth.com CEO Rafael Loureiro told InvestmentNews. “A gift at the right moment, such as helping fund education or supporting a first home, can have far greater impact than the same dollars arriving decades later.”

In the study, advisors pointed to education-related gifts and trusts as the most common vehicles, according to Loureiro, and many are also incorporating non-financial legacy elements such as passing down values, family stories and shared philanthropy. “This reflects a broader shift toward legacy as a living conversation centered on outcomes, meaning and family alignment, not just documents,” he added.

The research also found that advisors who meet with both partners or all account holders were more likely to be successful in generating new assets and referrals. Some 54 percent of advisors who include the client’s family members in discussions around legacy planning said they are very or extremely confident in next-generation client retention.

However, the report highlighted what it describes as a “legacy planning demand gap” with 37 percent of respondents hesitating because clients have not explicitly asked for it.

“Legacy planning may be a foundational conversation for many clients, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy conversation to have,” Ritholtz Chief Market Strategist Callie Cox told InvestmentNews. Cox noted that, in the survey, 39 percent of advisors who offer legacy planning said complex family dynamics are the biggest obstacle in these conversations, and one in three advisors said talking about end-of-life topics was the biggest barrier.

“Good, thorough legacy planning isn’t just about death, but it requires broaching uncomfortable subjects that aren’t exactly fun to talk about at parties,” she added.

“Legacy planning also takes a lot of coordination within and outside of an advisory practice. It’s not just a money conversation,” Cox explained. “You need the right legal and compliance partners to provide legacy planning services, and advisors told us in the survey that they struggle with building the right relationships here.

This, of course, is set against the backdrop of the “great wealth transfer.” In 2024 Cerulli Associates projected that $124 trillion in wealth will be transferred through 2048.

Last year wealth managers told InvestmentNews how they are juggling clients’ desire to pass on their assets with planning for their long-term security.