Where Will Your Money Go When You're Done With It

[Daneboy]

Been reading about Warren Buffett and Bill Gates and what they will do with their fortunes when they pass from this orb.

Warren said something about leaving one's children "enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing."

I like that - I just don't know how much that would be

If you have children or not, have you thought about where the money will go when you or you & SO are done with it or do you have a plan to use every penny of it or even go heavily into debt by the time you are kaput?

 

[SteveR]

...If you have children or not, have you thought about where the money will go when you or you & SO are done with it or do you have a plan to use every penny of it or even go heavily into debt by the time you are kaput? 

We "plan" on the undertaker having to go through the lint in our pockets to find some money to bury us.

Actually, we have already carved out a set amount of $$ for each of the kids. Whatever is left will be divided among the grandkids or their kids if we live that long. So far everything will remain in the families unless it looks like there will be a lot more left than we are estimating today. If that is the case, once we get some years under our belt we will see what might be above and beyond our material needs and where we might want the "excess" to go.

 

[MikeD]

Animal, specifically dog, causes.

Mike D.

 

[kz]

We recently updated our will and named two beneficiaries (besides the boys) in it. The first is our local community foundation. The second is our church. The two sons will evenly divide what is left.

 

[Alex]

I will die broke. My last check will be to the undertaker and hopefully it will bounce!

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

my niece/nephews think they're getting it but whenever it comes up in light conversation i assure them i'm giving it to gay & other liberal causes.

i read an article by some cpa on trusts and the idea that we have money but the kids have time. so i'm considering setting up trusts where they'd have a nice income at normal (not early) retirement age. this does two things: it frees them to invest or spend their own money during their productive years and offering them some measure of security later on. of course, i would have screamed bloody murder if mom did this to me, but hey, they're not even my kids.

the rest, of course, i'm leaving to gay & other liberal causes. (they thought i was kidding?) i feel the world gave me so much grief during my life simply because i am gay that i ought to do whatever i can to make it easier for future gay generations. as i'm too lazy to be an actual activist, i'll just leave them some cash.

 

[WRBT]

Animal, specifically dog, causes.

Mike D.

Ditto.

 

[canent]

I could only wish that this is a concern for us...out net worth is nowhere near the point where we have to decide how to divvy it up.

I really like Buffett's idea though...he is now "walking the talk" that he's been promoting for a while and I really hope it starts a new trend for the mega wealthy.

The fact that he's giving it to the poorest of the poor that have little means to help themselves is very admirable.

 

[Nords]

We don't have a clue whether we'll have any money left, let alone who it'll go to. Right now our wills specify a series of marital trusts.

We knew an extremely dedicated (70-hour workweeks) naval officer whose (widowed) father died and made her the trustee of his charitable foundation. Essentially she received her own inheritance and was also paid a salary to run the foundation, determining where grants & gifts would be distributed.

She executed one of the fastest retirements in naval history... last we heard she planned to fly to Europe to "investigate" some gifting opportunities.

 

[Zipper]

The church would be the last thing I would leave anything to.

Religions of all types have been a "bad trip" for humanity for millenia!

 

[Yipee-Ki-O]

Various conservation organizations and the University of Wyoming (and some to my two brothers, should I croak before them )
yko

 

[aaronc879]

The church would be the last thing I would leave anything to.

Religions of all types have been a "bad trip" on humanity for millenia!

Ditto

 

[kat]

An international relief organization that works with war refugees, and a local well run program for poor people, and two of my siblings.

 

[laurence]

: Religion bashing again? How did we get on that from this thread??


We'll be setting up a special needs trust for our daughter, and we're going to give as much as we can to Chilren's hospital. Saved our daughter's life, and in the (far too many) hours we spent there we saw just how much good they do.

 

[Cool Dood]

I'm still young enough to believe that I'll live forever, so this type of planning seems unnecessary to me.

 

[TromboneAl]

I like the idea of leaving money to charity in my will, since then I can determine whether I'll need it first. 

I'll probably die with lots of money for the charity, but just in case the market tanks and I need a liver transplant, I'd like to have it.

But then the question is, how will your kids feel to find that much of your money went to "Dogs R Us" or "Catholic Jihad" instead of them?

 

[Nords]

But then the question is, how will your kids feel to find that much of your money went to "Dogs R Us" or "Catholic Jihad" instead of them?

... or even worse, to their kids who you've spoiled for their entire lives!

 

[audreyh1]

No children.

We'll try to spend most of it! LOL! Although hopefully plenty of it will go to charity during out lifetime.

The Nature Conservancy will probably get the biggest chunk.

Audrey

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Gabe will inherit approximately 2-4 million dollars (todays dollars) when we both expire, which hopefully will be when he's in his 40's or 50's. His life will be set by then, suddenly becoming financially independent probably wont be a problem, providing he has the right values and gets raised right.

Good news is I have plenty of time to assure that that last bit happens.

 

[honobob]

For the Singles
Expect to leave 2 condo's worth total $800K value today plus whatever I can't spend.  The Dog (and keeper) will live large till the end of dogdays.  Would like to bring 6-8 friends and a couple of family together in Hawaii for my "Party" in a manner better than what they are used to, although I'll try to accomplish this at least once before My Party.

To me a general charity is not an option except maybe one fighting a specific disease.  Otherwise I think it would be best to bypass the charity and give directly to the "chairty recipiant".  So, would $50,000 "make a difference" to someone in a positive way?  I could impact 16 people directly.  Or, like the "Marlboro Iraq Man Wedding" would the money  have a negative impact?

I don't know.  Maybe "all in" to whoever give the best foot rubs to an 84 year old man.......How old will Anna be in thirty years?...(how fat)

 

[VoyT]

  If we both go at the same time, there's a "guardian" for our pets and $$ designated to take care of them.  Some to relatives, the rest to a scholarship program at my alma mater...

 

[free4now]

Being early retired in my mid 30's, I probably have a different will from most of you.  My will is not intended to for death by natural causes, but rather it's in place in case I die early. 

I'm sure it will change over time, but for now it says that my money will go in equal parts to each of my nuclear family members and "a charity contribution determined by beneficiaries".  Outside the will I wrote up some instructions for choosing a charity, basically saying that it should be something that reflects my values and past giving patterns.   By keeping it open ended like that, I don't have to update the will every time my charity interests change.

If I were to get hit by a bus today, the money might be split among:

• Some small regional organizations that work to keep the government from charging entrance fees for hiking in our public lands
• Oxfam
• San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness
• My alma mater
• ACLU and EFF

 

 

[Mwsinron]

Probably to my niece and nephew. My sister and I have probably generated more net worth than several generations before us. IE my family heritage has been poor for a long time Anyways maybe we will turn that around for future generations of our "clan"

 

[2B]

The church would be the last thing I would leave anything to.

Religions of all types have been a "bad trip" for humanity for millenia!

I am offended by this. Most religions are rapidly moving towards more permissive behavior than I would tolerate in my own house. I like to feel superior.

What about the Norse gods? Thor could use a new hammer. Freija is pretty hot. Odin can't hold his liquor and passes out at every banquet.