Rockefeller family-dynamics head says heirs need preparation, not just documents

Families can spend years on trust documents and tax strategy while leaving heirs unprepared to run the plan, according to Mallory Findley of Rockefeller Capital Management. Findley, the firm's head of family dynamics and financial education, made the case in an InvestmentNews interview published Oct. 20.

Rockefeller reported $99.6 billion in regulatory assets across 95,368 accounts as of Oct. 17, per PWD records.

Cerulli Associates estimates that $124 trillion will pass to heirs and philanthropy over the next 25 years.

Findley said families concentrate on legal and financial pieces because they can be measured. "Families are more likely to focus on the legal and financial aspects of wealth transfer because they are more tangible and measurable," she said, listing trust documents, tax returns, estate plans and portfolio return data as items a family can see in writing. Relationships, communication and expectations are not.

Wealth tends to amplify the communication patterns and tensions a family already has, she warned. The longer the dynamics go unaddressed, the harder the process becomes, even with every document in order.

"Parents should focus conversations about wealth with their children around purpose, values, and preparation, rather than on dollar amounts," she said. That means discussing how the wealth was created, the values behind the decisions that built it and the responsibilities that accompany it.

One practical tool she recommends is a family mission statement: a document reflecting shared values across generations, stating the family's aspirations and how it hopes to contribute to society.

She separates financial literacy, meaning an understanding of a portfolio or a trust structure, from the broader preparation she says heirs actually need.

InvestmentNews research on multigenerational planning found roughly two-thirds of advisors say clients now include children or parents in wealth transfer discussions. The article describes that as a shift from one-sided planning conversations.