Legacy, Not Luggage: India’s Gen Next Redrafts the Family Wealth Playbook

Image Source: Cary Street Partners

India's next generation is stepping into family wealth planning, away from the conventional trust model towards openness, governance, and long-term sustainability.

Emerging Trends

Family offices are becoming strategic hubs, managing not just investments but succession, philanthropy, and governance as well

Generation-to-generation wealth transfer will probably exceed INR 108 lakh crore in the coming decade

Younger-generation family members are focusing on technological innovation, ESG-based investments, and professional advisory frameworks.

Strategic Priorities

Estate planning is becoming increasingly popular among ultra-high-net-worth families to facilitate easy wealth transfer and asset protection

Family charters and clear-cut succession plans are being implemented even in small family firms to avoid family feud

There is greater focus on sustaining family values without conferring the next generation entrepreneurial autonomy

Cultural Evolution

The shift is a cultural one of larger scope: from secrecy to disciplined transparency, from patriarchal domination to shared decision-making

Younger successors are more open to external advisors, tax legislation, and cross-border tax planning

The custodians of Outlook India's wealth in the next generation are not only inheriting wealth—they're re-writing the inheritance books with purpose, organisation, and foresight.

Sources: Economic Times, EY India, Sanctum Wealth, Hindustan Times