Senior Associate
Why Every Generation Should Plan and How Their Priorities Differ
Estate planning is one of the most consequential financial and legal steps a person can take, yet it remains one of the most widely neglected. The common misconception is that estate planning is only for the elderly or the wealthy. In reality, it matters at every stage of life, although what it looks like and what is crucial change significantly depending on where you are in life.
This article provides an overview of the core benefits of estate planning and explores how baby boomers, Generation X, and millennials should each approach it given their distinct financial realities, family structures, and time horizons. While not exhaustive, the article highlights key considerations and strategies to help guide thoughtful planning at every stage.
Why Estate Planning Matters for Everyone
Before getting into generational differences, it helps to understand the universal purpose of estate planning. At its core, estate planning is about establishing control over your affairs and ensuring that your wishes are honored, your loved ones are protected, and your assets are distributed intentionally rather than by default state rules. When someone dies without a will, it is known as “intestacy.” Each state has intestacy laws that dictate how assets pass when someone dies without a will. These rules rarely reflect the wishes you have for your family. A long-term partner may receive nothing, a minor child could receive an asset they cannot legally manage, or a family business may be forced to sell as a result of a costly probate process.
While most people know that estate planning focuses on your estate after you pass, it also addresses incapacity during your lifetime. Documents like a durable power of attorney and/or a healthcare proxy ensure that trusted individuals can act on your behalf if you are ever unable to do so yourself, whether due to illness, injury, or cognitive decline. This prevents your loved ones from having to go to probate court to get appointed to secure control of your affairs if you have become incapacitated.
Finally, estate planning reduces conflict. Families can be torn apart by the lack of a plan, ambiguous inheritances, and contested estates. This can lead to compounding estate administration costs and family infighting. A clear and legally sound estate plan removes the guesswork and the potential for grief to turn into disputes.
Baby Boomers: Preserving and Transferring a Lifetime of Wealth
Baby boomers are currently the prototypical demographic when one thinks of estate planning. Many are facing the convergence of retirement, declining health, and the transfer of wealth to the next generation. This age group holds the largest share of American family wealth, and the decisions they make now will shape family finances for decades.
Key Priorities for Boomers
- Minimizing estate taxes: With the federal estate tax exemption currently set at $15 million per individual for 2026, boomers with significant assets need to plan carefully. Irrevocable trusts, annual gifting strategies, and charitable vehicles can each play a role in reducing the value of their taxable estates. Here in Massachusetts, the estate tax exemption is much lower, at $2 million per individual, making estate planning even more advantageous and necessary in this state.
- Long-term care planning: Without a plan, long-term care expenses can deplete an estate rapidly. Medicaid planning, long-term care insurance, and irrevocable Medicaid asset protection trusts can all be critical tools at this stage.
- Updating beneficiary designations: Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities pass via beneficiary designation rather than your will. Many boomers set these beneficiary designations decades ago. Divorce, death of a spouse, or estranged relationships make regular reviews essential.
- Legacy and charitable giving: Boomers who wish to leave a philanthropic legacy should explore donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, and bequests. These tools can provide income during their lifetime while later leaving meaningful gifts to causes that matter.
Generation X: The Middle Generation’s Planning Imperative
Gen X find themselves simultaneously supporting aging parents and raising children of their own. This dual responsibility, combined with peak earning years and growing asset accumulation, makes estate planning both urgent and complex.
Key Priorities for Gen X
- Business succession planning: Gen X represents a large portion of small-business owners in America. Without a succession plan, a business built over decades can dissolve quickly after an owner’s death or incapacity.
- Disability and incapacity documents: Gen Xers are at an age where health events are increasingly possible. A durable power of attorney, healthcare proxy, and living will are essential safeguards.
- Protecting minor or young adult children: Many Gen Xers still have dependent children. A will naming a guardian is nonnegotiable. Equally important is a trust that controls how and when children receive assets, preventing a lump-sum inheritance that could be squandered.
- Blended family complexity: Divorce and remarriage rates are high among Gen X. Blended families require careful planning to ensure that assets reach the intended recipients without conflict or unintended disinheritance.
Millennials: Starting Early, Building a Foundation
Many millennials assume estate planning can wait. While they may have fewer assets than older generations, they often have unique risks, digital assets, student debt, young children, and limited financial buffers that make having a basic plan both wise and necessary.
Key Priorities for Millennials
- Wills and guardianship designations: Any millennial with children needs a will. In your will, you will nominate who you’d like to serve as the guardian of your young children. A nomination made in a will has priority in the eyes of the probate court. Without naming a guardian in your will, the probate court will decide who raises your child.
- Beneficiary designations and retirement accounts: Millennials who have been saving in 401(k)s or IRAs for years may be unaware that these assets pass directly to named beneficiaries, bypassing any beneficiaries named in a will. It is important to stay on top of updating these designations.
- Life insurance as an estate planning tool: Millennials typically have the lowest life insurance premiums available. A term or whole life policy potentially held in a trust can create an immediate estate and provide for dependents in ways that retirement accounts cannot.
- Digital asset planning: Millennials are the first generation to accumulate significant digital wealth such as cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), online businesses, and social media accounts with monetizable value. These assets require specific provisions in estate documents.
The Time Is Now
Estate planning is not a one-time event; it is an ongoing process that will evolve as your life evolves. Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a business launch, an inheritance, retirement, and/or a health diagnosis are all triggers for review and revision. The most important step is simply the first one.
No matter when you were born, you should consider reviewing, updating, or starting your estate plan. To ensure it reflects your goals and protects what matters most, we encourage you to contact our estate planning attorneys for personalized guidance tailored to your unique circumstances.