Inheritance is one of those topics where expectations and reality often don’t line up. About 1 in 4 U.S. families has ever received an inheritance, a trust, or a substantial gift. Averaged across all families, including those who never received anything, the average inheritance comes to about $125,000. Among families who did receive one, the median is about $124,000. Those figures come from Boldin’s analysis of public microdata from the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). Wealth, age, and whether money passes through a trust all push the number well above or below that baseline.
Summary inheritance figures at a glance
| Segment | Inheritance figure |
|---|---|
| Families that have received an inheritance | About 26% |
| Average across all U.S. families | $125,000 |
| Median, families that received one | $124,000 |
| Average, families that received one | $480,000 |
| Median transfer from a parent | $116,000 |
| Average transfer from a parent | $379,000 |
| Median inheritance, not through a trust | $90,000 |
| Median trust | $185,000 |
| Bottom 50% by net worth, median received | $44,000 |
| Top 10% by net worth, median received | $500,000 |
| Top 1% by net worth, median received | $1.2 million |
| Families expecting a future inheritance | About 15% (median expected: $300,000) |
Source: Boldin analysis of Federal Reserve 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) public microdata. Includes inheritances, trusts, and substantial gifts. Values adjusted to 2025 dollars by year received, using the CPI-U.
Here’s what the research on inheritance shows, and how to factor it into your plan.
The Average Inheritance Is About $125,000 (and That Number Is Misleading)
The 2025 Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances asks every family about inheritances, trusts, and gifts received. In Boldin’s analysis of its public microdata, the average inheritance across all U.S. families is about $125,000. That average counts the 74% or so of families who have never received one.
Among the 26% who have, the median is about $124,000. The middle half received between about $41,000 and $349,000. The average for those families is far higher, about $480,000, because a small number of very large transfers pull it up. At the value when received, before adjusting for inflation, the median was about $87,000.
What Is the Average Inheritance From Parents?
Parents are the source of about 72% of the inheritances, trusts, and gifts families report. The median transfer from a parent is about $116,000, and the average is about $379,000, in Boldin’s analysis of the 2025 SCF. As with the overall figures, a few large estates pull the average up.
Transfers from grandparents are smaller. Their median is about $37,000.
Age matters too, since inheritances build up over a lifetime. About 39% of families headed by someone 65 or older have received one, with a median of about $187,000. For families under 45, it’s about 15%, with a median near $68,000.
Trusts Produce a Fundamentally Different Outcome
Transfers that arrive through a trust tend to be larger. Here’s how individual transfers compare in Boldin’s analysis of the 2025 SCF:
- Inheritance (not through a trust): median about $90,000, average about $345,000
- Trust: median about $185,000, average about $949,000
Trusts are much less common. They make up about 7% of reported transfers, and only about 110 surveyed households reported one, so treat the trust figures as rough. For middle-income families, an inheritance is far more likely to arrive outright.
Do People Inherit What They Expect?
About 15% of families expect to receive a substantial inheritance in the future. Their median expected amount is $300,000, well above the $124,000 median that families who already inherited received. Expectations aren’t adjusted for estate costs or the years ahead, but the gap is wide. On the giving side, the 2025 SCF shows:
- About 58% of families say leaving an estate to their heirs is important or very important
- About 46% expect to leave a sizable estate, and another 17% say they might
Late-life wealth has grown. For families headed by someone 75 or older, the Fed’s published report shows median net worth rose about 37% after inflation from 2022 to 2025. It now stands at $504,900. Long retirements, healthcare, and long-term care costs can still draw that down before anything passes to heirs. Whether you’re estimating what you might receive or what you’re likely to leave, it’s worth planning for both.
Wealth Tier Is the Biggest Variable in Inheritance
Average figures obscure how concentrated inheritance is. Here’s how families compare by net worth, in Boldin’s analysis of the 2025 SCF:
- Bottom 50%: about 15% have received an inheritance, with a median of about $44,000
- Middle 40% (50th to 90th percentile): about 34%, with a median of about $134,000
- Top 10%: about 53% have received one, with a median of about $500,000
- Top 1%: about 56%, with a median of about $1.2 million
Now average across every family in each group, including those who received nothing. Inheritances come to about $16,000 for the bottom half and about $3.6 million for the top 1%. That gap is one way wealth carries across generations.
$124 Trillion in Wealth Is Transferring Over the Next Two Decades
Cerulli Associates’ December 2024 projections estimate $124 trillion will transfer through 2048:
- $105 trillion goes to heirs; $18 trillion to charity
- Baby Boomers and older generations account for nearly $100 trillion of the total
- Millennials are projected to receive the largest share: $45.6 trillion
- Gen X is projected to receive $39 trillion
Cerulli Associates’ research also found that $54 trillion of this transfer will go first to surviving spouses, with more than 95% of it going to women. For women approaching or in retirement, that concentration of incoming wealth makes estate planning literacy a real priority.
The scale of this transfer matters for planning. The wealth exists and it’s moving. How much of it arrives, when, and in what form depends on healthcare costs, longevity, estate planning decisions, and whether families have the right documents in place.
The Federal Estate Tax Affects Very Few Families
The federal estate tax exemption rose to $15 million per individual in 2026. Transfers below that threshold don’t trigger federal estate tax. For the vast majority of families, the federal estate tax isn’t a planning factor. State taxes can be. Twelve states and Washington, D.C., levy their own estate tax, and five states tax inheritances. Some thresholds are far lower, such as $1 million in Oregon and $2 million in Massachusetts.
What matters more for most households: probate, beneficiary designations, and whether assets are titled correctly. A missing or outdated beneficiary form can override a carefully written will.
What Engaged Retirement Planners Are Targeting for Estates
In the Boldin Planner, users who have set a legacy goal above $0 show a wide range. Among the 86,797 users in that group as of April 2026:
- Average estate goal: $4,273,800
- Median goal: $1,000,000
- 25th percentile: $500,000 / 75th percentile: $3,000,000
About 28.5% of users have $0 as their goal, which is a reasonable call when the priority is funding a long retirement rather than maximizing what’s left over. Boldin users tend to be wealthier than average, so these figures run well above the national picture. They aren’t benchmarks for most households, but they signal what engaged retirement planners are targeting.
The Planner lets you set your own target, stress‑test it against different return and longevity scenarios, and see how it interacts with your income and withdrawal timing.
Sharing Wealth While You’re Alive Often Makes More Sense
A lot of wealth moves before death. Common vehicles include:
- Tuition payments and 529 contributions
- Down payment assistance
- Help with living expenses
- Multi‑generational living arrangements
- Annual gifts
For families with larger estates, lifetime gifting can reduce what’s exposed to estate tax while letting the giver see the impact firsthand. The annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per recipient in 2026.
Inheritance Planning Starts With Your Own Financial Security
Don’t count on receiving it
Longer lifespans and rising healthcare costs have eroded many anticipated inheritances. If you’re counting on an inheritance to fund retirement, model your plan with and without it. The difference tells you what your plan needs, and the adjustments are often smaller than people expect.
Fund your own retirement before worrying about what you’ll leave
Most heirs prefer financially secure parents to a larger inheritance. That preference shows up in survey data consistently, and it’s worth taking at face value.
If you want to leave something specific, build it into your plan now
Guessing isn’t a strategy. The Boldin Planner lets you set a legacy target and track your probability of hitting it. You can change your spending assumptions, adjust your portfolio return, or shift your longevity estimate and immediately see how your projected estate responds.
Have the conversation
Different families carry different expectations around inheritance. Talking through what you plan to leave, and what heirs should or shouldn’t count on, prevents a lot of conflict and misplanning on both sides.
Inheritance can involve real uncertainty. Your own financial plan doesn’t have to carry that same uncertainty. The Boldin Planner gives you a clear view of where you stand, what you’re on track to leave, and how specific changes affect the outcome. For most people, running the numbers replaces a lot of guesswork with a path they can commit to.
Frequently Asked Questions About Average Inheritance
What’s the average inheritance in the United States?
The average inheritance across all U.S. families is about $125,000, counting the 74% or so who have never received one. Among families who have received an inheritance, a trust, or a substantial gift, the median is about $124,000 and the average is about $480,000. These figures come from Boldin’s analysis of public microdata from the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, in 2025 dollars.
What is the average inheritance from parents?
The average transfer from a parent is about $379,000, but the median is about $116,000, according to Boldin’s analysis of public microdata from the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances. Parents account for about 72% of the inheritances, trusts, and gifts families report. A few large estates pull the average well above what most people receive.
What’s considered a large inheritance?
An inheritance of $100,000 or more is large enough to shift most households’ finances. It’s also close to the $124,000 median that recipient families report. About a quarter of those families have received more than $349,000. Transfers through a trust run larger, with a median of about $185,000. That’s based on Boldin’s analysis of the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances.
How much inheritance do most people receive?
Most people receive nothing. About 74% of U.S. families have never received an inheritance, a trust, or a substantial gift. Among those who have, the middle half received between about $41,000 and $349,000, with a median near $124,000. That’s based on Boldin’s analysis of the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances.
Does the federal estate tax affect most families?
The federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per individual in 2026, which doesn’t affect many families. The vast majority of estates fall well below that. Some states set much lower thresholds for their own estate or inheritance taxes, such as $1 million in Oregon. More common planning issues involve probate, incorrect beneficiary designations, and assets that aren’t titled to match the estate plan.
Should I plan my retirement around an expected inheritance?
You shouldn’t use an expected inheritance as a primary assumption for retirement planning. Healthcare costs and longer lifespans can reduce what parents ultimately leave behind. It’s worth modeling your retirement both with and without the anticipated amount, and making your plan work without it. If it does, any inheritance you receive becomes a genuine bonus.
How can I figure out what inheritance I’ll leave behind?
The most reliable approach to forecasting the inheritance you’ll leave your heirs is a detailed retirement plan that projects your assets, income, spending, and healthcare costs through your full life expectancy. The Boldin Planner lets you set a specific estate goal, track it against your current trajectory, and see how changes to your plan affect what’s left.
