Why the “Spend the Kids’ Inheritance” Era Changes Everything for Planners
A quiet shift is underway in British family finance.
Recent research highlighted in Financial Planning Today shows that 1 in 7 UK parents now intend to spend their wealth rather than leave it as inheritance. Not recklessly. Not impulsively. But deliberately.
That statistic should stop every serious planner in their tracks.
Because this is not a tax story.
It is a governance story.
A succession story.
A stewardship story.
And most importantly — it is a family systems story.
The End of Automatic Legacy
For decades, wealth planning followed a largely predictable pattern:
Accumulate → Preserve → Transfer.
Inheritance was assumed.
Estate planning was technical.
Retirement was conservative.
Now the pattern is fracturing.
The drivers are clear:
- From April 2027, unused pensions will fall within Inheritance Tax scope.
- Around 29% say this affects how they will use retirement savings.
- 10% are now more likely to spend pensions.
- 22% may gift earlier to reduce IHT exposure.
- 44% want to balance lifestyle enjoyment with legacy.
- 37% of adults expect to receive inheritance.
- 9% are financially planning around it.
Meanwhile, nearly half expect nothing at all.
This is not simply about spending.
It is about shifting priorities.
Parents are asking:
- “What is the point of preserving capital if tax erodes it?”
- “Should we enjoy our health and time now?”
- “Would gifting earlier create more impact?”
- “Is inheritance even the right objective?”
And here is the critical question planners must confront:
Are we equipped to manage this conversation at a systems level?
Why Traditional Planning Models Struggle Here
Most financial planning tools are excellent at:
- Cashflow modelling
- Tax efficiency
- Investment structuring
- Estate mitigation
But they are not built to manage:
- Intergenerational tension
- Governance breakdown
- Human capital transfer
- Liquidity strain in family businesses
- Succession ambiguity
- Role clarity across generations
They optimise assets.
They do not coordinate families.
And when legacy assumptions start shifting, that coordination gap becomes dangerous.
Enter: Total Family Office – The Control Tower (Beta)
If Total Wealth Plan v4.1 is the life-first architecture…
Control Tower 1.0 is the coordination engine.
It is not a product tool.
It is not a tax planner.
It does not draft trusts.
It operates as a Family Office recognition system.
It helps you:
- Detect where complexity hides in successful families
- Surface strain before it becomes crisis
- Recognise liquidity mismatches
- Identify governance gaps
- Map lifetime liabilities across generations
- Clarify human capital succession before financial structuring
- Know when to escalate to solicitors or technical specialists — and when not to
In short:
It trains you to think like a Family Office without becoming a conflicted intermediary.
Why the “Spend It” Trend Makes This Essential
When parents move from legacy-first to life-first:
- Expectations shift.
- Communication gaps widen.
- Financial timing changes.
- Tax assumptions move.
- Liquidity risk increases.
- Emotional dynamics intensify.
If 1 in 7 are spending — and nearly half are rebalancing — then planners must facilitate conversations about:
- What is legacy?
- What is stewardship?
- Who carries responsibility?
- What conversations must happen now?
- What is being assumed by children?
- What strain might emerge later?
These are not spreadsheet questions.
They are system questions.
Control Tower is built for system recognition.
The Hidden Risk in the “Bank of Mum and Dad” Era
We are also seeing:
- Earlier gifting to help children with housing.
- Silent assumptions around inheritance.
- Rising IHT sensitivity among high-net-worth families.
- Increasing charitable redirection of estates.
- Adult children planning around inheritances that may never materialise.
This is fertile ground for:
- Misaligned expectations
- Family resentment
- Liquidity stress
- Governance conflict
- Forced asset sales
- Business succession crises
A planner who only models retirement income is under-equipped.
A planner who can map family continuity becomes indispensable.
Control Tower’s Core Doctrine
The engine operates on one foundational sequence:
Human Capital precedes Financial Capital.
Who carries knowledge?
Who carries authority?
Who carries responsibility?
Who is succession-ready?
Who is not?
Only then do we look at financial architecture.
This is Family Office thinking.
But without defaulting to product intermediaries or conflicted asset-based advice models.
What Makes This Different
Control Tower operates within the Academy of Life Planning philosophy:
- Life first. Structure second.
- Recognition before structuring.
- Continuity over optimisation.
- Escalation discipline (solicitor for legal drafting, accountant for compliance — not product distribution).
It trains you to recognise complexity without pretending to solve everything technically.
It strengthens your authority without increasing regulatory exposure.
It positions you as steward of coherence.
Who This Beta Is For
Control Tower 1.0 is currently open as a free beta test for planners who:
- Work with entrepreneurs
- Serve business-owning families
- Advise multi-generational clients
- Want to step beyond traditional advice
- Are shifting toward Total Wealth Planning
- Recognise that legacy conversations are becoming more complex in 2026
If you are navigating:
- Pension IHT rule changes
- Gifting strategies
- Succession planning
- Business exits
- Liquidity planning
- Inheritance expectation gaps
…this will sharpen your systems thinking dramatically.
What It Is Not
Let’s be clear.
It does not:
- Design trusts
- Draft wills
- Provide tax calculations
- Recommend products
- Replace professional legal drafting
It does something more powerful.
It helps you recognise when those conversations must happen — and in what order.
Why This Matters for Your Future
The profession is changing.
Clients are no longer asking:
“How do I grow my money?”
They are asking:
- “How do I live well now?”
- “How do I avoid burdening my children?”
- “How do I transfer responsibility properly?”
- “How do I avoid conflict later?”
- “How do we talk about this as a family?”
A planner who can coordinate those conversations becomes strategic.
A planner who cannot risks becoming technical.
The SKI (“Spend the Kid’s” Inheritance) trend is not about spending.
It is about sovereignty.
And sovereignty requires structure.
Invitation to Beta Test
Control Tower 1.0 is in early-stage release.
It will evolve.
Your feedback will shape it.
We are not building another financial planning tool.
We are building a life-centred, multi-generational stewardship system.
If you would like to trial the Total Family Office – Control Tower AI (Version 1.0), simply contact me and I will send you the instruction prompt and setup guidance.
This is the next layer of Total Wealth Planning.
Life architecture first.
Family system recognition second.
Stewardship always.
—
Steve Conley
Founder, Academy of Life Planning
Total Wealth Planner
DM me at steve.conley@aolp.co.uk
Or visit, www.academyoflifeplanning.com
Academy of Life Planning 