Baby Boom Wealth Transfer

[farmerEd]

>>They had kids to raise and financial problems and they wanted their inheritance now. Is that the prevailing wisdom these days? I hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me.

My sister-in-law often comments on how my in-laws(her and my wife's parents) spend their money on expensive trips and such, she complains that they are "spending HER inheritance" foolishly...she has said it on more than one occassion....so, at least for some, that is a prevailing wisdom...personally, I hope they die dead-even broke, just to piss off my SIL...

She, and her husband, have also cut-off all communication with the husbands brother who inherited money from his(their) grandmother...apparently she was entitled to that to.

 

[LOL!]

Mother-in-law passed away and left a sizable (yet under $1million) inheritance to her 3 daughters. No one realized how much she had because she lived exceedingly frugally.
We could never get her to spend money on herself or to take trips or get a new car, etc.

She was a good stock picker though: her assets went up 45% between date of death and estate settlement.

For the heirs, the money was nice, but some had already retired early through their own hard work.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

>>They had kids to raise and financial problems and they wanted their inheritance now.  Is that the prevailing wisdom these days?  I hope not, but it wouldn't surprise me. 

My sister-in-law often comments on how my in-laws(her and my wife's parents) spend their money on expensive trips and such, she complains that they are "spending HER inheritance" foolishly...she has said it on more than one occassion....so, at least for some, that is a prevailing wisdom...personally, I hope they die dead-even broke, just to piss off my SIL...

She, and her husband, have also cut-off all communication with the husbands brother who inherited money from his(their) grandmother...apparently she was entitled to that to.

My parents don't spend much (never have). Children of the Depression. OTOH, they waste a lot of their meager resources, like many other
financially unsophisticated older people. Anyway, they are not going to suddenly start "livin' large", so I am hopeful there will be something
there for me and my brother. Time will tell.............

JG

 

[Andre1969]

My parents are still fairly young. Mom's 56, stepdad's 53, and my Dad is 59. So I won't be getting anything from them for a long time....not that I'm eagerly anticipating it or anything!

Now eventually, my grandparents will pass on. My Granddad on my Dad's side is almost 91. Still healthy and active, but at that age you could kick off tomorrow or last another decade or more! As Granny once said on The Beverly Hillbillies, "Any morning you wake up is a good morning!" But, anything he has saved up would be split among my Dad and two uncles. I don't know if Granddad has anything set up for the Grandkids or great grandkids. One thing I'll probably have to do though, is help/advise Dad with the inheritance. Even Granddad warned me, a few years ago, that Dad's not good with money, and he asked me to watch him!

On my Mom's side, when Grandma passes away, I know I'm in that will. It's split 40% to my Mom, 40% to my uncle, and 20% to me. So I'll get 20% of her house and 20% of her savings/investments/other possessions. And the house I'm in, which is currently split between my uncle, Grandma, and me, will become 50/50 me/my uncle. My uncle doesn't have much saved up, and will probably have to work for years. Plus, he's only 52 right now. Most likely I'll be having to help him out with investing/saving/allocating the money. And possibly helping him to buy out my Mom's 40% of Grandma's house, so he'll have a guaranteed roof over his head.

Hopefully my Mom, stepdad, Dad, and uncle won't be kicking off for awhile, so I probably won't have to start thinking about any inheritance from them for a good 20-30 years (or more). And Grandmom, who's 81, is still pretty healthy, so I figure she has a decade or more left in her!

I'm also not planning my future based on getting any inheritance, because I figure that anything could happen. Grandma could get sick and wipe us out, and so could any of the others. So I figure that if I don't plan on it, then anything I DO get will just be a pleasant surprise, and a nice addition to whatever I already have saved up.

Now when Grandma does finally pass on, I might evaluate the situation and discuss with my uncle the possibility of selling both houses up here and finding a cheaper place to live. My uncle won't be retiring anytime soon, and will most likely still be working when Grandma does pass on, so any place we move to (or at least he moves to) would have to be within driving distance to his job in Virginia. And depending on where I relocate too, if I do move, I might be able to finally take early retirement.

 

[LovesLife]

Well, I thought I would chime in here as I did receive a substancial inheritance from my father when he passed on. The funny thing about it was that I had absolutely no clue what was in store for me financially after he died. No clue at all. I was never privilaged to know any of his investments or his financial situation, nor did I ask. I did know that he was basically living off of his SS and pension. He lived in a nice condo in FL and traveled to see his sibblings almost every year. I lived my life accordingly and kept our family debt and expenses to a minimum. We worked hard and saved what we could.

When he passed away and I realized what was in store for us financially it still didn't change the way I lived. I had posted earlier what a$$holes I worked for and because of them I quit my job. Because of my inheritance I didn't look for another. I know deep in my heart that is what my father would have wanted for me. Unfortunately when my dad died it also meant that he was no longer in my life and that can't be compensated for. No amount of money can make me someone's daughter again.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

My parents are still fairly young.  Mom's 56, stepdad's 53, and my Dad is 59.  So I won't be getting anything from them for a long time....not that I'm eagerly anticipating it or anything!

Now eventually, my grandparents will pass on.  My Granddad on my Dad's side is almost 91.  Still healthy and active, but at that age you could kick off tomorrow or last another decade or more!  As Granny once said on The Beverly Hillbillies, "Any morning you wake up is a good morning!"    But, anything he has saved up would be split among my Dad and two uncles.  I don't know if Granddad has anything set up for the Grandkids or great grandkids.  One thing I'll probably have to do though, is help/advise Dad with the inheritance.  Even Granddad warned me, a few years ago, that Dad's not good with money, and he asked me to watch him!

On my Mom's side, when Grandma passes away, I know I'm in that will.  It's split 40% to my Mom, 40% to my uncle, and 20% to me.  So I'll get 20% of her house and 20% of her savings/investments/other possessions.  And the house I'm in, which is currently split between my uncle, Grandma, and me, will become 50/50 me/my uncle.  My uncle doesn't have much saved up, and will probably have to work for years.  Plus, he's only 52 right now.  Most likely I'll be having to help him out with investing/saving/allocating the money.  And possibly helping him to buy out my Mom's 40% of Grandma's house, so he'll have a guaranteed roof over his head.

Hopefully my Mom, stepdad, Dad, and uncle won't be kicking off for awhile, so I probably won't have to start thinking about any inheritance from them for a good 20-30 years (or more).  And Grandmom, who's 81, is still pretty healthy, so I figure she has a decade or more left in her!

I'm also not planning my future based on getting any inheritance, because I figure that anything could happen.  Grandma could get sick and wipe us out, and so could any of the others.  So I figure that if I don't plan on it, then anything I DO get will just be a pleasant surprise, and a nice addition to whatever I already have saved up.

Now when Grandma does finally pass on, I might evaluate the situation and discuss with my uncle the possibility of selling both houses up here and finding a cheaper place to live.  My uncle won't be retiring anytime soon, and will most likely still be working when Grandma does pass on, so any place we move to (or at least he moves to) would have to be within driving distance to his job in Virginia.  And depending on where I relocate too, if I do move, I might be able to finally take early retirement.

My wife's family was quite poor. Plus, her Mom and Dad were both
remarried with stepchildren when they passed. Not much there
and no planning. She got nothing.

My parents are not much better off planning-wise, but I am at least trying to cover
the "gotchas". OTOH, anything can happen and then there is Murphy's
Law. Many posters say they do not include any SS in their ER plans.
I include no inheritance, a very real possibility.

JG