Despite acknowledging that their wealth is a catalyst for family success, less than half of HNW families have a formal wealth transfer plan in place, a new study by SEI has revealed.

Only 46 per cent of those families polled said they had worked out a wealth transfer strategy, while for 38 per cent their planning had gone as far as wills being drawn up and nothing else.

A significant 8 per cent of respondents have done nothing about wealth transfer thus far – this in spite of the fact that an overwhelming 97 per cent of the 100 HNW individuals surveyed agreeing that the future generation has the ability to continue creating wealth and improving the lives of their families.

Despite most of those surveyed not having formal family wealth transfer plans in place, the vast majority (80 per cent) said they expect to pass on their wealth to direct family members. This could be seen as analogous to the general populace's recalcitrance when it comes to arranging wills, but in addition to facing one’s own mortality, succession planning can be a notoriously thorny issue – particularly when a substantial family business forms part of the picture. To read a recent expert view on this subject featured by Family Wealth Report, click here.

"A wealth transfer plan is crucial to a family's ability to sustain wealth long term and yet many wealthy families don't have one. We see this as part of a larger disconnect in financial communication in wealthy families,” said Michael Farrell, managing director for the SEI Wealth Network.