Beneficiary education directly addresses this concern, and yet 25% of families in BNY Wealth's 2026 Wealth in Motion study say their inheritors have not participated in any formal financial learning. The gap is real, but it can be addressed. Families that combined formal education with practical experience exhibit the greatest confidence in the next generation.

Here are some of the most effective practices wealthy families use to educate the next generation of leaders.

Begin at Home

Financial education doesn’t begin with formal programs. It often starts with conversations at home.

Including discussion topics like the purpose behind wealth, the family’s history and the values that shaped its creation can establish a foundation for responsible stewardship. For UHNW families, whose wealth often carries significant philanthropic, civic and economic influence, these conversations are especially important.

These discussions can be hard to begin, so creating opportunities for connection is key. Some families schedule annual retreats with structured agendas, but spontaneous conversations can be equally effective.

When it comes to wealth, meaning can matter just as much as mechanics. Heirs who engage with their family’s values are more likely to preserve, perpetuate and grow wealth.

Formal Education: Next-Generation Programs

External resources reinforce what begins at home.

Corporate trustees, family office consultants and other specialists often provide structured programs that complement family conversations with more formal learning. These programs may cover investment fundamentals, portfolio governance, tax planning, fiduciary duties and the legal responsibilities that accompany significant wealth.

BNY Wealth's research shows strong adoption of these resources, with 56% of families reporting that heirs have completed basic financial education, and an additional 23% enrolling younger family members in formal next-generation governance or leadership programs.

External education equips heirs with technical fluency, strengthens relationships with trusted advisors and reinforces lessons learned within the family.  

Practical Experience

No education is complete without hands-on experience.

Next-generation family members benefit from opportunities to develop the skills, judgment and accountability necessary to govern significant assets. This can be as simple as including heirs in meetings with key advisors or as structured as formal programs or defined roles within a family council. Forty-two percent of families report including heirs in meetings with advisors, with 33% having involved them in philanthropic decisions.

Practical experience builds competence and is an important part of connecting abstract learning to real-world applications.

The Family Bank

A family bank can be an innovative tool for practical education that directly addresses one of the most common tensions in wealth transfer: how to give the next generation meaningful financial responsibility without removing the accountability that builds judgment.

Family banks serve as a means to fund the next generation’s business and investment ideas, but rather than receiving unrestricted access to funds, the younger generation is required to pitch business or investment ideas to a board. This board, often consisting of family members and close advisors, approves ideas it judges to be viable, extends loans to finance them and maintains regular oversight and feedback on execution. This system offers heirs valuable financial experience while serving to build family confidence in their ability to manage the assets they stand to inherit.

Family banks are often embedded within a family office, allowing the office to secure lines of credit against liquid securities in its investment portfolio. This is often the lowest cost way for a family to generate liquidity, made possible through the family office’s relationship with a large global custodian. As the family bank makes loans to the next generation of entrepreneurs, it can charge a rate marginally higher than that for which it procured the line of credit, generating income to cover family office expenses while providing cost-effective access to start-up capital.

In this way, the family bank leverages family resources to give heirs practical experience, instilling a sense of the family’s values, helping to minimize the disputes that can arise from less-disciplined gifting and encouraging next-generation leaders to develop sound judgment.

Educated Heirs, Confident Families

Concern about heir readiness is widespread, but it is not insurmountable. Families that combine intentional conversations, formal education and practical experience are better positioned to preserve wealth, reduce conflict and prepare the next generation for long-term stewardship.

Explore the full findings of the 2026 Wealth in Motion report, including data on heir preparedness. Read the full report.