I met an investor recently who saw what we are building at Forward Inheritance and goes, “Oh my goodness, I am the customer?! I need this…my parents are getting older, my children are relying on me, and I’m stuck in the middle…I need this to get organized…”
I could only wryly smile, because she is right. We are all in it these days. Raising our Mom and Dad who are still the matriarch and patriarch, but maybe shouldn’t be driving themselves to lunch. Raising the Next Generation who are looking around and asking where the adults are. Some of this angst reflected in recent data points include:
- Per Unusual Whales, Baby boomers, who make up about 20% of the U.S. population, hold more than $85 trillion in assets, according to Fed data. By comparison, millennials, who make up about the same percentage of Americans, hold just about $18 trillion, roughly one-fifth that of baby boomers.
- Per The Morning Brew, as of 2025, just 43% of Americans aged 15-34 believe that it’s a “good time” to find a job where they live, compared with 64% of people 55 and older. In 2023, nearly 70% of 15- to 34-year-olds thought it was a good time to find a job. That means it dropped by 27 percentage points in just two years—comparable to the drop following the Great Recession in 2008.
- And again per Unusual Whales, The typical age of a first-time buyer has hit a record high of 40, per NAR. The typical age of a repeat buyer has also reached a record high of 62.
That haunting dread of our Parents’ passing being a paperwork crisis during the opaque estate process rather than a time to celebrate and grieve. That gnawing worry that we are not able to give the next generation a better life than was given to us. Rising costs, taxes, and unexpected expenses.
What to do?
In my experience, eating the frog and controlling what I can control tends to chip away at doubt and put me on a trajectory of being able to go to sleep in a better place than where I woke up. And then doing it again. And again. With help. With humor. With grace. And with a community of people who are trying to figure it out, too.
Is ensuring that our estate paperwork is ticked and tied fun? Likely not. And that’s OK. You know what is beautiful? Sleeping well because we know that Mom and Dad are covered and their legacy is secure. Peace of mind because we know we are helping ensure the Next Generation is well taken care of, too. Better relationships because we are able to celebrate our relatives rather than destroy our families over money.
We can do this. We can do this together. We can help ourselves and our families. We can serve Mom and Dad as well as the Next Generation. We can be the adults our families need. We’re all in it, let’s help each other. We can move ourselves forward…