---

Having a will, an estate plan, and carefully organized finances can provide some reassurance as people grow older. But new research from Fidelity Investments suggests there’s another important part of preparing for the future: making sure your family knows what you’ve planned.

Fidelity’s 2026 Transition Ready Family study found that just 37% of older adults surveyed reported a high level of peace of mind about their overall planning. More than half of those who had completed plans still lacked strong confidence in them.

The research suggests the missing ingredient for many families may be communication.

Families that Fidelity characterized as having high “transition readiness” were four times as likely to report high peace of mind and five times as likely to have high confidence in their estate planning as families with lower levels of readiness. Transition readiness includes not only completing financial and legal preparations, but also sharing information, discussing responsibilities, and preparing family members to carry out important decisions.

That can matter when an aging parent becomes ill, dies, or can no longer manage financial affairs independently. Adult children may suddenly be expected to handle bills, investments, medical decisions, or an estate without knowing what their parents wanted or where important information is located.

---

Many families aren’t talking

Fidelity found that about one-third of parents surveyed have never openly discussed important future-planning topics with their adult children.

Among parents who hadn’t held those conversations, one of the biggest obstacles was surprisingly simple: They didn’t know how to start.

Others said they didn’t feel prepared or planned to wait until later in life. Some who had already discussed the subject believed another conversation wasn’t necessary.

The research also uncovered a potential disconnect between parents and their children. Nearly two-thirds of parents believed their adult children could assume responsibility for their finances if necessary, yet relatively few had provided the information or discussed the responsibilities their children might eventually inherit.

Only 21% of parents had communicated their completed estate plans to their children.

Fidelity found that parents who involved their families by sharing completed plans were more than three times as likely to report greater confidence in their planning.

---

Even wealth doesn’t guarantee peace of mind

Having more money helps in some respects, but the study found it doesn’t necessarily eliminate concerns about the future.

More than four in 10 respondents with net worth exceeding $5 million reported only moderate or low peace of mind. Fidelity also found that the wealthiest households weren’t more likely than their less-affluent counterparts to have lower anxiety about their planning.

That suggests financial preparation and family preparation are two different things.

“Creating a plan is only part of preparing families for future transitions,” Timothy Habbershon, managing director and founder of the Fidelity Center for Family Engagement, said in announcing the findings. He said ongoing conversations and a shared understanding can help family members confidently carry out those plans.

---

What families can do

Fidelity recommends starting with relatively small conversations instead of trying to resolve every financial and estate issue at once.

Parents and adult children can discuss who would manage finances, who might provide care, and who would make important decisions if a parent became unable to do so. Fidelity also recommends clarifying roles and expectations early, since different family members may have very different assumptions about who will be responsible for what.

For consumers, a practical starting point is making sure the appropriate family members know that important documents exist and how they can be accessed when needed. Families can also discuss financial responsibilities, healthcare wishes, beneficiaries, and estate arrangements, while consulting financial, legal, or tax professionals when appropriate.

And those conversations probably shouldn’t be treated as a one-time event. Retirement, health, finances, and family circumstances can change, making periodic discussions useful for keeping everyone on the same page.

The Fidelity study was conducted by Publicis Sapient and surveyed 654 married or partnered U.S. adults aged 55 and older who had at least $500,000 in net worth and at least one adult child. The survey was conducted from Nov. 7, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026, and had a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.