Advisers are being warned they risk letting a £1trillion opportunity slip through their fingers.

A report from estate administration specialists Kings Court Trust stated that rising wealth and higher mortality rates would combine to raise the total value of inheritances to £1trillion over the next decade.

Authors of the report claimed unprepared IFAs could miss out on the ‘Inheritance Economy’.

Researchers said total annual amounts passing from one generation to the next are forecast to rise from the current level of £69 billion to around £115 billion by 2027.

This 66% increase in intergenerational wealth transfers outlined in the ‘Passing on the Pounds’ report – developed in association with the CEBR – is expected to be heavily driven by the rise in property prices over the next 10 years, the report said.

In the last 20 years, the average house price has risen by 273%, the report said, and this has increased as the percentage of the average value of household net worth from 39% to 51% in 2015 - the latest available figures.

Christopher Jones, sales and marketing director of Kings Court Trust, said: “The revelation that inheritances will hit £1 trillion in the next decade is quite astonishing, but makes perfect sense given the amount of accumulated wealth being held by the UK’s older generation.

“However, IFAs who are not ready to make the most of this opportunity by finding ways to engage with the families of clients, rather than their clients alone, could see this opportunity slip through their fingers.

“Between 2012 and 2014 just over 1m people received an inheritance of more than £1,000 in a given year with around 870,000 receiving cash gifts of more than £500.

“But over the same period, the average inheritance rose from £43,000 to £54,000, so significant amounts of money are already passing into the hands of the younger generation.

“As mortality rates increase and the concentration of wealth in the hands of the older generations rises, the number of adults receiving higher amounts as an inheritance is also set to rise.

“By 2047, we could see as much as £335 billion a year passing to the younger generation, which is a staggering amount of money.”

He warned that if advisers fail to build relationships with the children of their clients, they could find the wealth, which they have helped to build over the years, simply moving to be managed by another.

Mr Jones added: “Many advisers struggle to find the best way to address the question of passing on wealth, especially if they have never had a reason to talk to their client’s children before.

“But simply asking clients the question ‘are you an executor in anyone’s will?’ allows advisers to begin this conversation with clients without the need to discuss their own death.”