The nation’s wealthiest are reaching retirement age, and whilethey probably have been planning their finances for retirement foryears, they should also be planning for the inheritance of theirfortunes. The average age of an ultra-high net worth (UHNW)individual is 59 for men and 57 for women. Within the next 10years, nearly 16,000 ultra-high net worth individuals with acombined net worth of over $4.1 trillion will pass on their wealthto the next generation.

As many of these individuals approach retirement and think abouttheir legacies and wealth succession plans, a huge amount of wealthis set to change hands in the coming decades. This era of familialwealth transfers and giving is unprecedented. Over the next 30years, $16 trillion of UHNW wealth is expected to be transferred tothe next generation, and the United States accounts for 40% ofwealth transfers, according to findings from a recent NFP-sponsoredWealth-X study, Family Wealth Transfers Report, creating a newgeneration of UHNW individuals. The latest Wealth-X report examinesdata and trends associated with wealth succession globally,providing an in-depth analysis on the worlds liquid and illiquidwealth transfer to reveal its relevance for succession planning,and further efficient protection of assets through insurance.

"It is important that the insurance portfolio be structuredproperly to not only fit the client’s needs and goals, but to alsobe in accordance with all the applicable jurisdictionalguidelines. Therefore, the insurance advisor should be wellversed in the global marketplace and understand how to properlystructure each client’s unique insurance portfolio,” says CelesteMoya, vice president of international insurance and productmanagement for National Financial Partners Corp., an insuranceadvisory and brokerage services provider to high-net worthindividuals, and also a provider of benefits, P&C and lifeinsurance.