PETALING JAYA: More Malaysians are formalising what should happen to their money and assets after they are gone, but that has not necessarily made them feel more secure about the future.
A recent survey found that 37% of Malaysian respondents fully documented and communicated their legacy plans in 2026, up sharply from 15% last year. This marked the highest proportion among the six Asian markets surveyed, while the share of Malaysians with no legacy plan at all fell from 23% to 10%.
The research, conducted in August, surveyed 3,073 people across Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. The Malaysian sample comprised 506 respondents across different generations and wealth levels.
Yet greater organisation has not erased one big concern: whether the wealth being passed on will actually endure. Among Malaysians intending to leave financial assets or wealth, 80% worried that it might not survive beyond the next generation, compared with 70% across the region.
Market volatility topped the list of Malaysian concerns at 54%, followed by whether beneficiaries were ready to manage inherited wealth at 49%. Family conflict came next at 47%, while 37% cited possible legal, regulatory or tax changes.
Those findings suggest that legacy planning is about more than deciding who gets what. Documentation is only one part of preparedness: families also need to consider whether their intentions are understood and whether future beneficiaries are ready for what they may inherit.
Millennials were especially conflicted. Among those planning to leave financial assets or wealth, 90% worried it might not last beyond the next generation, compared with 82% of Gen Z respondents and 71% of both Gen X and baby boomers.
At the same time, millennials were the most optimistic about the long-term impact of what they leave behind: 69% believed their legacy would have a positive effect for generations to come, compared with 47% of Gen Z, 53% of Gen X and 48% of baby boomers.
What Malaysians hope to leave behind is also revealing. Education was the most commonly selected legacy priority, with 51% placing it among their top three, ahead of wealth at 49% and family traditions at 44%.
Among those intending to leave financial assets or wealth, 53% wanted the money invested for long-term growth, 52% wanted it used to support family members during their lifetime, and 50% hoped it would fund education. This suggests inheritance is often being thought of less as a lump sum and more as something intended to keep working for the family.
Communication, however, still appears incomplete. While 66% said older generations in their families had communicated at least some aspects of their plans, only 32% said those plans had been explained fully.
Formal family meetings were the most common setting for these conversations, at 51%, while 40% said discussions were more informal. The share communicating through financial advisers also rose from 16% in 2025 to 31% this year.
A will remains one of the basic tools for distributing assets - it allows a person to set out how assets such as property, vehicles, shares and investments should be distributed, while also appointing an executor to carry out those wishes.
But the new survey suggests that written instructions alone do not answer every question. Families may still need to consider whether beneficiaries understand the plan, whether they are prepared to manage what they receive, and what the money is ultimately meant to achieve.
That may explain why Malaysians can be both more organised and more anxious at the same time. Putting a legacy plan on paper is a significant first step, but keeping that legacy intact may depend just as much on what happens after the documents are signed.