2025 was a strong year across wealth management.

Markets performed. Assets grew. Many of the industry’s largest firms posted banner results. Fidelity, Schwab, Ameriprise, Transamerica and others benefited from rising asset values and sustained investor engagement.

But performance was only part of the executive conversation.

Across the firms we work with, leadership teams are increasingly focused on the digitization of the client experience surrounding those assets.

There are clear drivers behind that shift. 

Because what is coming next is not simply a continuation of market growth. It is a generational transfer of wealth that will test how prepared firms are to support asset movement securely and seamlessly.

Wealth is about to change hands at historic scale

Roughly $84 trillion in assets is projected to transfer between generations over the next two decades.

This transition will unfold across overlapping life events. Estate settlements, spousal transfers, trust activations, and beneficiary designations will occur simultaneously across millions of households.

For wealth management firms, this creates both opportunity and exposure.

The individuals inheriting assets often do not yet have a primary relationship with the firm holding them. Their first meaningful interaction may occur during estate execution or account transition.

That interaction becomes the firm’s introduction to the next generation client. And increasingly, it is happening digitally.

Beneficiary and estate workflows are where risk concentrates

Designating beneficiaries and transferring account control has always been operationally sensitive. These workflows determine who is authorized to control assets when the original client is no longer present to confirm intent.

Despite their importance, they remain heavily manual across much of the industry.

Paper forms. Wet signatures. Medallion guarantees. In-branch verification. Manual document review. These controls were built for physical assurance. They assume proximity, paper custody, and face-to-face validation.

As firms digitize client engagement, these legacy workflows introduce friction for legitimate clients while creating new blind spots for fraud and operations teams.

Digitization is exposing the identity and intent gap

Most firms began digital transformation by modernizing access. Client portals, mobile applications, digital forms, and eSignature have become standard.

But digitizing the interface does not verify the participant. And it does not capture legally enforceable intent.

When beneficiary updates, ownership transfers, or estate documents move online, the risk model shifts. The question is no longer whether paperwork is complete. It is whether the individual initiating the request is authorized and whether their intent can be proven later.

Without embedded identity and authorization controls, firms face exposure to fraudulent beneficiary changes, social engineering targeting aging clients, unauthorized account transfers, and disputes during estate settlement.

Digitization alone does not eliminate risk. It changes where risk concentrates.

What secure wealth transfer actually requires

To support generational asset movement digitally, firms need a trust layer that travels with the transaction.

That includes the ability to:

• Verify the identity of beneficiaries and estate actors remotely
• Capture and notarize intent behind high-stakes account changes
• Execute sensitive documentation securely
• Create durable evidence tied to participant identity
• Maintain continuity between verified individuals and account activity over time

This is where traditional digital tooling falls short. Forms can be digitized. Signatures can be captured.

But without identity assurance and notarized authorization, firms lack defensibility when control over assets is challenged.

How firms are modernizing these workflows

Leading wealth organizations are now embedding remote online notarization and reusable identity infrastructure directly into these processes. Rather than requiring branch visits or medallion guarantees, firms can verify participants remotely using government ID validation, biometric checks, and liveness detection.

Once identity is established, estate and beneficiary documentation can be executed and notarized within the same controlled environment.

This binds verified identity to legally enforceable intent.

Affidavits, powers of attorney, trust updates, and beneficiary designations can all be completed digitally while maintaining the evidentiary standards historically associated with in-person notarization.

Operationally, this removes friction. From a risk perspective, it creates defensibility.

The role of reusable identity in wealth continuity

The second shift underway is the move toward reusable identity.

Wealth transfer is not a single event. It unfolds across multiple interactions over time. Heirs may need to access accounts, update ownership structures, activate powers of attorney, or execute additional documentation.

Re-verifying identity at each step introduces friction and operational drag.

Reusable identity allows firms to establish high-assurance verification once and apply it across future transactions. This creates continuity between verified participants and ongoing account activity, while reducing repetitive verification burdens on clients and operations teams alike.

For firms focused on retaining generational wealth, this continuity is critical.

Where Proof fits into the wealth lifecycle

Proof provides the identity verification, notarization, and transaction authorization capabilities required to support these high-trust moments digitally.

Wealth management firms use Proof to:

• Verify beneficiaries and heirs remotely with high assurance
• Capture notarized intent behind beneficiary and estate actions
• Execute powers of attorney and trust documentation securely
• Authorize account ownership and control changes
• Maintain reusable identity records tied to verified participants
• Create auditable evidence defensible in disputes or legal review

Because identity verification, Remote Online Notarization, and reusable identity operate within a single environment, firms gain both client experience improvements and institutional risk protection.

The experience feels simple to the client. Underneath, every action is tied to verified identity and notarized transaction evidence.

Trust will define the next leaders in wealth management

The firms best positioned for the coming wealth transfer are investing now in trust controls that support secure asset movement across generations. Not just digital portals, but identity-backed and notarization-enabled workflows that can withstand regulatory scrutiny and legal challenge.

As trillions change hands, firms will be evaluated on their ability to onboard heirs digitally, authorize beneficiary changes remotely, and execute estate workflows without dispute.

The experience must feel seamless. The controls must be uncompromising.

That balance will define who retains generational wealth and who watches it leave.

Proof enables wealth management firms to capture notarized intent, verified identity, and tamper-evident transaction records across beneficiary, estate, and account transition workflows.

Learn how Proof supports secure wealth transfer >