Our Mission To Serve

At Marshall Wealth, we believe that sustaining wealth requires more than strong financial strategy—it requires integrating sophisticated planning with the realities of family dynamics. Rather than treating estate planning, investment strategy, and tax considerations as separate from the people they impact, we design each plan around the unique relationships, values, and communication styles within the family. While comprehensive technical planning is widely available to families of significant means, our focus is on ensuring those structures truly work in practice—because they are aligned with how a family makes decisions, shares responsibility, and prepares for the future. We partner with families to facilitate meaningful conversations, clarify roles and expectations, and develop rising generations, acting as a steady guide so that wealth is not only preserved, but supported by the strength and cohesion of the family itself.

As significant wealth continues to move between generations, many families are focused on preserving assets, minimizing taxes, and maintaining investment performance. While these elements are important, research consistently shows they are not the primary drivers of long-term success, both financially and relationally. In fact, the greatest risk to sustaining family wealth is not financial—it is human.

Across the wealth management industry, studies have found that the majority of wealth transitions fail not because of poor planning, but because of breakdowns in communication and trust. Estimates suggest that as much as 70% of wealth is lost by the second generation and 90% by the third, with roughly 60% of those failures attributed to a lack of communication, clarity, and shared purpose among family members (Williams & Preisser; Estate Planning Institute). These findings highlight a fundamental truth: even the most sophisticated financial structures cannot succeed without alignment within the family.

Recent research from J.P. Morgan further underscores this dynamic, describing what it calls a “quiet disconnect” in how families think about and discuss wealth. Their multigenerational study found that while families genuinely want to steward wealth responsibly, many struggle to have consistent, meaningful conversations about it. Differences in perspective often emerge across generations—older family members tend to view wealth as a source of security and responsibility, while younger generations more often see it as a means of freedom, flexibility, and impact. Without a shared understanding, these differing viewpoints can create friction, confusion, and unintended distance within families.

At the same time, many families find these conversations emotionally complex. Topics such as fairness, readiness, and responsibility can feel difficult to navigate, leading to partial communication or, in some cases, complete avoidance. As a result, younger generations frequently report feeling underinformed or unprepared, while older generations may hesitate to share information out of concern for conflict or unintended consequences. This gap between intention and action often leaves families without the clarity needed to move forward together.

Importantly, these challenges persist even in families with strong technical planning in place. Trusts, estate structures, and investment strategies provide a critical foundation, but they do not address the relational dynamics that ultimately determine whether wealth is sustained across generations. Research consistently shows that long-term financial and relational success is more closely tied to factors such as open communication, clearly defined roles, shared values, and the preparation of future decision-makers.

Families who navigate this well tend to approach wealth differently. They prioritize ongoing, intentional conversations rather than waiting for major life events. They take time to define what wealth means within the context of their family and what it is intended to support. They create clarity around roles and responsibilities, helping each generation understand how they can contribute. And they invest in the development of rising generations, providing education, mentorship, and opportunities to build confidence over time.

In this way, wealth becomes more than a financial asset—it becomes a shared responsibility grounded in purpose and connection (stewardship). When families are aligned in how they communicate, make decisions, and define success, they are better positioned not only to preserve wealth, but to strengthen relationships and continuity across generations.

The opportunity ahead is significant. As one of the largest intergenerational wealth transfers in history unfolds, families who succeed will not simply be those with well-constructed financial plans. They will be those who are willing to engage in thoughtful dialogue, build trust intentionally, and align around a shared vision for the future.

Because ultimately, sustaining wealth is not just about managing assets. It is about supporting the people and relationships that give that wealth meaning.