How Financial Planning Changes as Wealth Grows

Financial planning at $500k is not the same as it is at $50M

Once your net worth crosses that threshold, the tools, conversations, and objectives change because the risks, opportunities, and complexity all increase.

At this level, you’re no longer just trying to grow wealth.

You’re managing multi-generational wealth.

Here’s how planning evolves (and the key strategies ultra-high-net-worth families need to consider):

1. You can take a lot more risk, but you also don’t need to

It can go both ways here. Because you have so much wealth, you can take a lot of risk on part of the money to really grow it.

But at the same time, you really do not need to take a lot of risk.

4% on $50mil is $2mil in spending per year.

It oftentimes makes sense to have 3 buckets:

• Short term
• Mid term
• Long term (can really focus on growth here)

2. It becomes a family plan, not just a financial plan

At this wealth level, the conversation naturally shifts to legacy. That includes:

• Educating the next generation
• Setting up governance structures
• Defining family values and mission
• Establishing who gets a voice in future decisions
• Deciding when and how they can use the money
• How to minimize estate taxes

You don’t just need a plan for your money, you need a plan for your family.

Not everyone can handle large sums of money at a young age, let alone ever.

Make sure you are creating structures to let this wealth last as long as possible.

3. Everyone is knocking on your door for money

This may be:

• Investing in friends businesses
• Loaning money to people you know
• Money managers calling
• Real estate deals
• Etc.

You will have the opportunity to invest in a ton of private companies, PE funds, friends investments, etc.

There is nothing wrong with taking part in a lot of those things, just be careful writing too many checks and becoming too illiquid.

You will enjoy the journey a lot more when 50-80% of your wealth is liquid.

4. Trusts Become Strategic Tools, Not Just Probate Avoidance

Trusts at this level aren’t just about avoiding probate or reducing estate taxes. They’re about:

• Creating dynasty trusts to protect and grow wealth over generations
• Using spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs) for strategic gifting while retaining indirect benefit
• Leveraging grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) to pass on appreciating assets with little to no gift tax
  Stacking QSBS exclusions through multiple non-grantor trusts
• Gifting high growth assets into trusts early on so you use little exemption and get tons of growth outside of your estate

Trust design is now a key tax, control, and legacy planning tool.

You want to pay as little in estate taxes as possible (40% tax rate hits hard).

5. Charitable planning moves to the forefront

At $50M+, charitable intent becomes not only a values-based decision but also a tax-efficiency play. Tools include:

• Private foundations for family involvement and control (highest level and commitment)
• Donor-advised funds (DAFs) for flexibility
• Charitable lead or remainder trusts (CLTs/CRTs) for income or estate tax planning
• Impact investing as part of portfolio construction

Done right, philanthropy can bring a lot of meaning to you and your family while also being a great tax planning tool.

6. Entity structure gets more sophisticated

You may already have multiple businesses, real estate investments, or a family office. Structuring matters more than ever:

• Holding companies (LLCs or LPs) to manage and consolidate ownership
• C Corps for QSBS eligibility
• S Corps for certain operating businesses without real estate and debt
• FLPs (family limited partnerships) for valuation discounts and control

This isn’t just about liability protection anymore, it’s about tax optimization and control across generations.

7. Asset protection becomes a must

There’s really only a few ways to lose this wealth:

• Losing it all in investments
• Divorce (can be costly)
• Liability events

You want to protect this wealth through:

• Max out auto
• Maxed out homeowners
• Umbrella up to your net worth
• Trusts for asset protection purposes

Do not risk it.

8. Income & estate tax planning must be ongoing

Tax planning isn’t once a year, it’s year-round. You’ll want to:

• Maximize lifetime exemptions before they sunset
• Coordinate income, gift, and estate tax strategies
• Plan around state residency (CA, NY, NJ, IL, etc. vs. FL, TX, NV)
• Use valuation discounts and intrafamily loans effectively
• Do yearly gifting (and really supercharging this with 529 superfunding, paying for family members health or school costs, etc)
• Leverage tools to minimize capital gains taxes

At this wealth level, every 1% in savings is meaningful.

Planning for ultra high net worth individuals is not just about preserving wealth, it’s about growing it, minimizing taxes, creating purpose, etc.

The strategies are more complex, but so are the opportunities to leave a massive impact, whatever that looks like to you.

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