Succession planning among ultra-high-net-worth families is undergoing a fundamental reorientation, moving away from tax-centric frameworks toward a model that prioritizes shared vision and heir preparedness. The shift reflects growing recognition that technical estate structures alone cannot ensure continuity when the next generation lacks alignment with family purpose or the resilience to steward capital through disruption.

Fanny Grenier, president and chief operating officer at Fairwater Capital Corp., a multigenerational single-family office based in Toronto, argues that the most effective succession plans begin with a deceptively simple question: What is the family ultimately trying to preserve for future generations? While trusts, estate structures and tax strategies remain important, those tools are only effective when they support a broader vision for the family's future, she told Markets Group.

"You can have the most amazing tax and estate plan, maximizing tax mitigation and asset transfers," Grenier said. "But if it doesn't tie in with the family, it's a failure." Instead, succession planning should begin with a discussion around family values, long-term goals and the readiness of future generations to assume responsibility. "A strong succession plan always starts with the mission and vision," she said.

The challenge is acute across the industry. According to UBS Global Wealth Management, just 27 percent of family offices have a formal process to educate and prepare the next generation for future responsibilities. While many families view ages 30 to 39 as the ideal period for heirs to become involved in decision-making, a significant number remain largely disengaged from family office affairs, the research found.

For Michael Hyatt, principal of the Hyatt Family Office, the greater challenge is preparing the next generation to adapt to a world that may look dramatically different from the one that created the family's wealth. "What got us here won't get us there," Hyatt told Markets Group. "I'm not sure we can prepare for what's happening, but we can prepare them for change."

Hyatt and his eldest brother Richard launched the Hyatt Family Office in 2017 following a series of sales of companies they founded. Drawing on that experience, Hyatt argued that succession planning should begin years before the next generation assumes leadership responsibilities. "There's no easy and quick path to succession," he said, adding that wealthy families often believe they're helping the next generation by removing obstacles.

He cautioned that in doing so, they may be taking away something far more valuable: the opportunity to develop resilience, judgment and confidence through experience. "Don't steal their dream. Don't steal their journey," Hyatt said. While his and his younger brother's children are still too young to participate, Hyatt said his older brother's adult children have already begun working in some of the family's portfolio companies. "They start at the bottom," he said. "If they're not good, I guess you're going to fire them. There's no easy way in and out."

For many multigenerational family offices, succession planning is as much about governance as it is about wealth transfer. That challenge can be addressed through an ownership structure designed to reduce friction before it emerges. Some families decide to manage assets through a single pooled investment vehicle while others choose to oversee a series of family corporations, each with its own strategic asset allocation and investment preferences, said Janet Rabovsky, who works with Grenier as chief investment officer at Fairwater Capital.

When Rabovsky joined the organization five years ago, family members across generations were invested in largely the same way despite having vastly different investment horizons. Since then, the firm has tailored strategic asset allocations to individual family members based on factors such as age, objectives and risk tolerance. While inflation protection remains important across generations, younger family members with longer time horizons have increased exposure to illiquid investments, while older generations maintain greater liquidity.

Grenier added that members of the younger generation at Fairwater have already begun receiving basic financial education and participate in philanthropic decision-making. But meaningful involvement of the youngest generation—from financial literacy to family values and vision—is critical long before wealth is transferred, she pointed out. The goal, Grenier noted, is not simply to prepare heirs to inherit wealth but to prepare them to steward it. "How do you train them to be stewards of the money and to be good contributors, very productive people within society?" Rabovsky said.