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What is often overlooked is whether the family itself is ready to receive and steward what is being passed on. Without addressing the broader family, governance and communication issues, even the most carefully structured estate plan can create unintended consequences.
So, what are the seven estate planning issues that are frequently missed when it comes to estate planning?
Many estate plans leave assets jointly to children such as property, investment portfolios, or shares in a family business. What’s often overlooked is establishing a framework for how decisions will be made.
Parents often assume their children will eventually work it out and continue running the business how they see it today. However, in reality, their children may be at very different life stages, have their own families, careers, financial pressures and priorities.
Without formal and documented governance, this can lead to deadlock where:
In a business context, it can result in no clear leadership, no decision‑making authority, and no agreed direction.
What should be done?
Leaving assets jointly without governance is leaving risk behind. Families should consider whether their children want to work together while they’re still working in the business and if so, put in place clear decision‑making and governance structures to support them.
Estate plans often fail because they don’t align with how assets are legally owned. This can result in situations where:
For example, a parent may intend to leave the business to one child and personal wealth to another. However, in practice, they might discover the business is owned by a discretionary trust and cannot be gifted through a will at all.
What should be done?
A will can only deal with assets you legally own. Families must clearly understand their structures and ensure their advisors have a complete picture, so intentions align with reality.
Many parents take pride in being financially independent right up until the end. They manage everything themselves and view their estate as something for their children once they’re gone.
The issue with this can be that often, the next generation has never worked with professional advisers, made investment decisions, or navigated shared ownership before. When the parents are gone, children are suddenly expected to step into complex roles without guidance or context.
What should be done?
An estate plan should not start at death. Bringing children on the journey in the form of educating them, exposing them to advisers, and explaining the ‘why’ behind decisions sets them up to honour your wishes with confidence.
Not all shares are equal. Different classes of shares can carry different rights relating to control, voting, dividends and capital.
When shares are transferred through an estate without a clear understanding of these rights, families can inadvertently create power imbalances, loss of control, or conflict between siblings, often without realising it until it is too late.
What should be done?
Understanding and documenting the rights attached to each share is critical. Estate plans should consider not just who receives shares, but what those shares give them.
Leaving assets jointly often comes from a place of love and fairness. Parents want to treat their children equally and keep the family united.
However, equality does not always result in harmony. When children have different priorities, capabilities, or values and particularly when money is involved, joint ownership can magnify tension rather than reduce it.
What should be done?
Families need to be honest about whether joint ownership is likely to strengthen or strain relationships, and plan accordingly.
Parents often carry quiet concerns they are reluctant to voice such as:
Too often, these concerns are ignored or left unspoken and can create issues once the parents have passed away.
For example, a parent may want their wealth to benefit grandchildren, but a child’s circumstances or relationships make that outcome uncertain without deliberate planning.
What should be done?
If you have concerns now, they are unlikely to disappear. Sharing them allows advisers to design strategies that protect what matters most before it’s too late.
Your will is a legal document and final message to your family. A well‑crafted statement of wishes provides context, clarity and guidance. It explains not just what you decided, but why you decided it. Done well, it can reduce confusion, resentment and misinterpretation and help your children move forward with confidence and unity.
What should be done?
Your statement of wishes is your last act of leadership. Use it to guide, reassure and set your family up for success.
One of the most important lessons from these issues is that estate planning is not just about transferring assets in a legal sense, but it is about preparing people. Without thoughtful consideration of family dynamics, governance, communication and readiness, even technically sound plans can create unintended outcomes.
The most successful estate plans are those that combine technical excellence with human insight, ensuring assets, intentions and family capability are aligned for generations to come.
Please reach out to our team of family business advisers if you’d like to discuss your estate planning today.
The 2025 Grant Thornton Family Business Report revealed that only 19 per cent of family businesses have a documented succession plan in place. This finding is both striking and concerning, especially at a time when generational transition has never been more complex, and the stakes have never been higher.
The 2025 family business survey found that 63 per cent of family businesses are already mentoring rising generation family members; 60 per cent are gradually integrating the rising generation into decision making and 31 per cent are engaging external advisors to support development.
As family businesses transition from one generation to the next, more family members become involved in the business. What usually begins with a couple of founding members quickly grows to include siblings, and cousins each with their own experiences, personalities and perspectives.
