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As a financial advisor, you’re seeing a generational shift in how people approach legacy that’s reshaping estate planning. Generation Z and Millennial clients bring values, priorities and life circumstances that differ from previous generations, altering how wealth, privacy, purpose and technology are considered.
What’s Changing for Gen Z and Millennials
These key trends highlight how Generation Z and Millennials are reshaping priorities, perspectives and expectations in estate planning.
Digital Assets Matter
Younger clients increasingly hold value — both financial and emotional — in digital wallets, cryptocurrencies, social‑media accounts, cloud storage and other online holdings collectively known as digital assets. These are intangible items that carry value in online environments. Traditional wills and trusts designed primarily for real estate, bank accounts and tangible property often overlook these assets.
The total value of crypto assets locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) smart contracts nearly doubled from $38.77 billion in 2023 to $87.5 billion in 2024, illustrating the rapid growth of digital wealth that estate plans must now address.
Risk of Asset Loss Is Real
Without clear instructions or legal provisions, digital assets may become inaccessible to heirs. Private keys, passwords and multi‑factor authentication can effectively lock wealth away after death, and many platforms restrict post‑death access entirely.
Digital holdings are increasingly complex, including multiple wallets, exchanges, non-fungible tokens and DeFi accounts. Without coordinated estate planning, heirs may face permanent loss or legal hurdles. Advisors who include digital‑asset inventories and clear transfer instructions help protect both value and peace of mind.
Desire for Digital Legacy Management
Younger adults want control over how their digital presence is managed, whether it involves preserving social media profiles, distributing cryptocurrencies or ensuring access to critical online accounts. Due to these considerations, digital-asset estate planning — once a niche concern — is now a crucial component of modern estate plans.
Digital assets often carry personal and emotional significance. Planning for social media accounts, digital portfolios, or online communities ensures that clients' identities and values are preserved. Advisors who discuss memorialization or philanthropic options can create legacy plans that truly reflect client priorities.
Values and Life Priorities Are Reshaping Estate Planning
Younger clients approach estate planning through the lens of their life priorities and personal values. They seek flexibility, control and purpose-driven legacies that reflect modern family structures, philanthropic goals and digital realities. Key trends shaping their decisions include:
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Later family formation and evolving wealth trajectories: Many Millennials delay milestones such as buying a home or starting a family due to economic uncertainty.
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Planning regardless of net worth: Even clients with modest assets increasingly establish wills or trusts, challenging the stereotype that estate planning is only for the wealthy.
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Flexibility and personalization: Clients prefer estate structures that reflect diverse life arrangements, including non-family beneficiaries, guardians for pets and charitable organizations.
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Purpose-driven legacy: Many focus on leaving a meaningful legacy, emphasizing charitable giving and social impact rather than solely transferring wealth to family.
Rethinking Traditional Estate Tools
Traditional wills and trusts focus on tangible assets and conventional families, leaving gaps for younger clients. Digital assets — including cryptocurrencies, social media accounts and cloud storage — often lack legal recognition, complicating access and transfer. Modern plans may need explicit language for digital assets, flexible trust structures and a digital executor to meet the evolving needs of Gen Z and Millennials.
For particularly complex or long-term trusts, corporate trustees can offer continuity, impartiality and specialized expertise, helping manage multi-generational assets and digital holdings while respecting clients’ values and intentions.
How Advisors Can Adapt
With 62% of Millennials lacking a will or trust and over half being unclear about asset outcomes, adapting your approach is crucial for effectively serving Gen Z and Millennial clients. Here are key strategies to consider:
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Start digital‑asset conversations early: Include login credentials, crypto wallets, social accounts, cloud storage and domains in the discovery phase.
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Use clear fiduciary language: Ensure wills, trusts and powers of attorney explicitly authorize executors or digital executors to access and manage digital assets.
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Offer flexible trust structures: Include options for non‑family beneficiaries, pet guardians, charities or nontraditional trustees to reflect client values and lifestyle.
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Treat plans as living documents: Review and update digital asset inventories and beneficiary designations regularly as circumstances change.
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Communicate in plain language: Clearly explain estate planning, digital executors and potential risks to build understanding and confidence.
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Align advice with client values: Address privacy, control and social impact to strengthen trust and show that estate planning reflects legacy and identity, not just wealth transfer.
Adapting to the Next Generation
Younger clients expect estate plans that reflect their digital lives and values. Traditional wills often leave gaps, so advisors should expand discovery, include digital-asset inventories, use clear fiduciary language and tailor plans to client priorities, helping preserve wealth and legacy.
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