By Martin Schamis
October 1, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Communication regarding your estate plan can help reduce uncertainty and surprises.
- Make sure the people you’ve chosen understand their roles
- Use the conversation to share your wishes, values, and priorities.
Developing a thoughtful estate plan can be challenging. There are documents to complete, important decisions to make, beneficiaries to designate, accounts to title appropriately, and trusts that may need to be funded. Even once those pieces are in place, one important step may remain: talking with your family about the plan you’ve created.
For many families, that conversation can be one of the most difficult parts of estate planning. But it can also be one of the most valuable.
Who should join in the conversation?
A family conversation may include your loved ones and beneficiaries, as well as the individuals you have selected to serve in important roles—such as executors, trustees, guardians, agents under powers of attorney, or others who may be involved in carrying out your wishes.
The purpose of the meeting is to help those involved understand your intentions, the responsibilities they may be asked to assume, and where they can turn for guidance when the time comes.
Not everyone needs to know every detail of your finances. You can determine how much information you are comfortable sharing based on your family circumstances and the purpose of the conversation.
Why is this conversation so important?
Death and money are two of the most uncomfortable topics for families to discuss. Privacy regarding specific financial details is often a key concern, even among close family members, and conversations about death or incapacity can understandably become emotional.
Even so, discussing your plan in advance can provide both practical and emotional benefits.
Financial and practical benefits. You may, for example, assume that one or more of your family members or trusted individuals will be comfortable serving in an important role under your estate plan.
By allowing to understand the requirements of the role, you may learn that they are not able or willing to take on those responsibilities—or that another person or professional fiduciary may be more appropriate.
From their perspective, hearing your intentions and plans ahead of time can help them better understand what may be expected of them and what resources will be available to help. Clear communication can also reduce uncertainty for beneficiaries and help minimize misunderstandings or family conflict. If you are the primary decision maker for your family’s finances, the conversation can also be an opportunity to make sure your spouse, partner, children, or other trusted family members know where important information is kept, who your professional advisors are, and whom to contact if you become unable to manage your affairs.
Introducing family members to your Financial Advisor before they need assistance can also provide continuity and give them a familiar resource to turn to in the future.
Emotional benefits. Beyond the practical considerations, an estate planning conversation can help family members better understand the thinking behind your decisions.
Through an open dialogue, you can share not only what you intend to do with your assets, but why certain decisions matter to you. That may include your hopes for future generations, charitable intentions, expectations surrounding a family business, or the values you would like your wealth to support.
These conversations can also encourage family members to become more engaged in financial matters and consider their own estate and financial planning needs. Over time, greater openness and understanding can help families carry forward shared values, responsibilities, and a thoughtful approach to stewardship across generations.
How do you get started?
Despite the benefits, a family conversation may still be difficult to initiate. Here are a few suggestions that may make the discussion more productive:
- Start with your purpose. Let family members know why you want to have the conversation. The goal may be to explain your wishes, clarify responsibilities, prepare loved ones for the future, or simply make sure everyone knows where to turn when help is needed.
- Make room for dialogue. While communicating your wishes is important, give family members an opportunity to ask questions and express concerns. You don’t need everyone to agree with every decision, but helping them understand your reasoning may reduce confusion later.
- Choose the right setting. Pick a time and place of relative calm where everyone can focus on the conversation. Avoid trying to address complex estate matters during holidays, celebrations, or other emotionally charged family gatherings.
- Decide how much you want to share. A productive conversation doesn’t necessarily require disclosing account balances or the exact value of your estate. Focus on the information your family needs to understand your wishes and prepare for any responsibilities they may assume.
- Don’t expect to cover everything at once. Estate planning conversations often work best as an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-time event. As your family circumstances, assets, and wishes evolve, the conversation can evolve with them.
How can your Financial Advisor help?
To help you prepare and get the most out of your family conversation, consider meeting with your Financial Advisor beforehand. Your advisor can help you organize relevant financial information and identify topics you may want to address with your family.
Your advisor can:
- Review information about your current beneficiaries, powers of attorney, and account registrations.
- Provide a report of your current assets.
- Help you identify financial information or account details that family members may need to know.
- Participate in a family meeting when appropriate to help explain the financial aspects of your plan and answer questions.
- Help keep your financial plan aligned as your family circumstances, assets, and goals evolve over time.
Estate planning is also a collaborative process. Your Financial Advisor can work alongside your estate attorney, accountant, and other professionals to help identify areas that may warrant further discussion and support coordination across your broader financial plan.
The documents you create are important, but helping your family understand your intentions can be just as valuable. Starting the conversation now may give your loved ones greater clarity about your wishes—and greater confidence about the roles they may one day be asked to fulfill.
Working With Janney
Depending on your financial needs and personal preferences, you may opt to engage in a brokerage relationship, an advisory relationship, or a combination of both. Each time you open an account, we will make recommendations on which type of relationship is in your best interest based on the information you provide when you complete or update your client profile.
If you engage in a brokerage relationship, you will buy and sell securities on a transaction basis and pay a commission for these services. Our recommendations for the purchase and sale of securities will be based on what is in your best interest and reflect reasonably available alternatives at that time.
If you engage in an advisory relationship, you will pay an asset-based fee, which encompasses, among other things, a defined investment strategy, ongoing monitoring, and performance reporting. Your Financial Advisor will serve in a fiduciary capacity for your advisory relationships.
For more information about Janney, please see Janney’s Relationship Summary (Form CRS) on www.janney.com/crs which details all material facts about the scope and terms of our relationship with you and any potential conflicts of interest.
By establishing a relationship with us, we can build a tailored financial plan and make recommendations about solutions that are aligned with your best interest and unique needs, goals, and preferences.
Contact us today to discuss how we can put a plan in place designed to help you reach your financial goals.
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