Financial Planning for the Generations

In most families, the needs and interests of family members overlap. Even if your money is separate, planning needs to happen for all.

It is normal, when working with your financial professional, to focus on the needs of your immediate family. If you are a baby boomer, for example, you are probably looking at retirement planning, when to take Social Security, how to invest your retirement assets, and so on. Other financial planning issues such as college and home buying are behind you, while long-term care and estate planning will be coming up. But there are some very good reasons why your financial planning activities and discussions should span the generations: why you might want to look into college planning, and why your children should know something about long-term care.

In most families, the needs and interests of family members overlap. Grandparents are interested in their grandchildren’s college plans, and grandchildren may someday be involved in the care of their elders. Healthy families talk about these things. When families love and care about each other, there’s a certain interdependence that acknowledges the needs of each generation and the ability of the other generations to help. Even if the generations keep their money separate, there are often conversations where family members share ideas and opinions about each other’s lives and financial decisions. They get into each other’s business, so to speak, because one generation’s decisions often impact the lives of the others’.