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Most families, when they think about protecting an inheritance, think about tax.

And Inheritance Tax is important. But it is not the only threat to the wealth you want to pass on.

There are three other risks that we think about just as carefully. We call them social impacts, and in many cases they can be just as damaging as the tax bill itself.

The first is divorce.

The divorce rate in the UK sits at around 50%.

If you have two married children, statistically there is only a one in four chance that both of them will remain married until death.

Which means there is a very real possibility that money you have worked hard to accumulate could end up leaving your family entirely as part of a financial settlement.

The second is what we sometimes call sideways inheritance.

If the person you leave money to dies before their spouse, and that spouse remarries, there is no legal obligation for the new partner to leave that money to your children or grandchildren.

It can pass to an entirely different family.

Your grandchildren could be completely disinherited, not through any malice, but simply because the right structures were never put in place to prevent it.

The third is vulnerability.

This takes different forms.

Money received too late in life may arrive at a point when it serves very little purpose. The recipient is already in retirement, their financial future is already settled, and the opportunity to make real use of it has passed.

Money received too early carries its own risks.

A young person dealing with bereavement at the same time as a significant inheritance is not always in the best position to make sound decisions. Addiction, gambling, financial inexperience. These are not uncommon, and they are not things families like to talk about. But they are real, and they are worth planning for.

The same applies to beneficiaries with diminished capacity as a result of a medical condition, who may need help managing and protecting what they receive.

The good news is that all of these risks can be addressed through careful planning.

Trusts, in particular, offer a way to pass wealth to the people you love while retaining the right level of protection around how and when they are able to access it.

The earlier those conversations happen, the more choices are available.