Whether beneficiaries are ready to manage what they inherit is the biggest concern among those worried their wealth won't survive, cited by 52%, ahead of market volatility (49%) and family conflict over assets (44%).
70% worry their wealth won't survive the next generation, even as documented plans have doubled since 2025.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of families planning a financial legacy intend to pass on values, knowledge or life lessons alongside financial assets.
Asia's wealthiest families worry less about family conflict and more about investment risk, tax complexity and trust in their advisors.
HONG KONG, Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from Sun Life Asia reveals that the biggest threat to preserving wealth across generations may not be market volatility or family conflict, but whether beneficiaries are ready to manage what they inherit. While legacy planning is becoming more common across Asia, only one in five people say they feel fully prepared to pass on their legacy today.
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Sun Life Asia's latest Passing the Torch: When legacy means more than money report found a significant shift in how people across Asia think about the legacy they want to leave behind. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of people surveyed intend to pass on values, knowledge or life lessons as part of their legacy plan alongside financial assets. At the same time, 70% worry their wealth may not be preserved beyond the next generation and only 20% say they feel fully prepared to pass on their legacy today, reinforcing the growing recognition that a lasting legacy depends not only on what is passed on, but whether future generations are equipped to manage it.
The study also found that legacy planning continues to gain momentum across the region. The proportion of people with a fully documented and communicated legacy plan more than doubled from 10% in 2025 to 22% in 2026, while the proportion with no plan at all fell from 31% to 15%.
David Broom, Chief Client and Distribution Officer at Sun Life Asia, said: "A legacy plan is not complete simply because it's been written down. It needs to give families a shared understanding of what the wealth is for, what principles should guide its use, and how the next generation can carry that responsibility forward. That is how planning on paper becomes something that can endure in practice."
Legacy means more than money
For most families, legacy means more than money. Skills and education (33%), family values (32%) and life lessons (31%) rank among the things people most want to leave behind, alongside money and property. Providing opportunity through education carries particular weight, ranking among the region's top three legacy priorities overall (48%). Even among those planning to leave financial assets, funding education (45%) sits just behind providing financial support to family members during their lifetime (50%) and essential family needs (52%).