Cash gift to sons

[Souschef]

In about a year or so, an annuity that DW has will mature. She wants to gift the proceeds of about $100K to each son. This annuity is as a result of their father's life insurance policies that she has never needed. The sons have no idea that this annuity exists. It will be a total surprise to them and they are great people, by the way.

I suggested she give it to them in a gift box. We researched how big a bundle of $100 bills would be, and it comes to about 5 inches, which would fit nicely into a gift box. She is really excited about this gift and would like your opinion.

 

[SecondCor521]

You'll probably need to file a gift tax return since it sounds like it will exceed the $16K per donor/donee pair annual exemption. No tax will be due, but it will eat into your lifetime unified exemption.

I would not do cash, for several reasons:

1. It can get lost.

2. It can get stolen.

3. Bad people might do bad things to you to get it.

4. Banks generally are going to have a difficult time coming up with that much actual cash.

5. Your sons may have a hard time re-depositing that cash. Their banks may suspect them of money laundering. There is even a remote possibility that the cash will be seized by police and held indefinitely (google "civil forfeiture" - I think that's the phrase).

I think your sons could be just as excited and happy with a cashier's check.

 

[Car-Guy]

A 100k (in Franklin's) will fit nicely in small gift box for each son and IRS form 709 will work for the DW. I've deposited 100k+ cash in my small town local bank multiple times over the years.... No problems but they will file a CTR each time anyone deposits over 10k cash. If the son(s) aren't well known at their banks, they (the bank) may file a SAR too. Form 709 is easy to fill out and the banks fill out the other forms so I would not let any of that that spoil the surprise or enjoyment of the gift.


Of course there's always the cashiers check option (709 still needs to be filed) but the effect may not be the same.

 

[aja8888]

No cash in that quantity for the reasons stated above. A cashiers check is the best way to go. Great idea!!

 

[street]

That is a great idea! That is a lot of Benjamins, and I would give them the gift box personally not mailed. I'm sure that was and is your intent.

The only problem I see when they go to deposit it in a bank etc. if over a 10K deposit they will need to fill out a form and IRS could be checking on the large deposit.

Yes, you should do a 709-tax exempt form for lifetime gifting for the IRS.

They will be two happy boys. lol

 

[RunningBum]

I think the idea is neat, but a lot of drawbacks as you saw with the first response you got. Plus, would they be tempted to blow some of the cash on really dumb things?

How about a stack of monopoly or other play money totaling $100K, then an envelope in the bottom with the cashiers check?

Does Nestle still make the $100,000 bar? You could do something like wrapping that and giving it to them first, then the box with the play money, and then the check in an envelope or some other way.

Depending on your income level and theirs, it might be better to gift them appreciated stock if they can sell it with $0 cap gains. But I understand your wife might want a more direct correlation with the annuity from her father.

 

[Jerry1]

Have fun getting the cash. I have a friend that sold a house and he wanted most of the money in cash. I think it was $200K. It took time and he had to bring in another person to basically witness the transaction. But, it can be done.

As cool as your idea is, it’s not really practical. However, if you’re willing to put up with the hassle, you’ll create a story that will out live you and your DW. Remember, as crazy as they make it and the hoops they’ll put you through, there is nothing illegal with cash.

 

[RunningBum]

Looks like it's called a 100 Grand bar now, which is good enough if you like that idea. No feelings hurt if you don't.

 

[RunningBum]

One more idea. Maybe you could get 1000 $1 bills and put those in a gift box. They'll be pleasantly surprised by that. Then your wife could say something like "Oh no, the bank screwed up, those were supposed to be $100 bills!" and present them with the checks. You might need to give the bank some notice to come up with that many $1 bills, but it would avoid the problems of too much cash.

 

[ivinsfan]

Your DW might consider a regular check, and perhaps giving it with something that has meaning about the boys father. To me that's the thing that makes it special.. Just reading that in your OP made me smile. Something as simple as a ball cap from Dad's favorite team ,along those lines

 

[N02L84ER]

I like RunningBum's idea, but I would put $100 in the boxes in singles and then say "Oh no, that was supposed to be $100,000" and then hand them the checks.

 

[Sunset]

I agree with others , that a ton of cash is fraught with dangers. So a Regular check to each would be fine.

No idea why people are thinking cashiers check, it's not like OP is a stranger.


When I gave DD a gift, I got a few hundred $1 bills to hide inside it. It was pretty funny, and I'm sure a pain to count.
But a $100K would be scary to carry.

 

[Act2]

The Monopoly play money and $ 100 grand bar sound like fun options, and the stack of actual $ 100k sounds fraught with potential issues.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

https://ij.org/issues/private-property/civil-forfeiture/


Bad idea... People call taxes theft but this is even worse. Most recently and egregious:

Many other reasons why this is bad but civil forfeiture is something that really triggers me so it's my favorite reason to advise against. A simple traffic stop could take your/their cash without due process or crime committed. Go to Dollar Tree and get fake bills instead or cut paper and make a $100 bill sandwich worth $200 and put that in the box.

 

[Philliefan33]

Giving large sums of cash to either one of my daughters would cause them some problems, since they do not use a brick and mortar bank. Everything is online for them.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I agree with others that suggest putting a smaller amount of cash in the box and either tell them the real amount or put a note with the bills that says "Plus 1000 more just like these" or whatever number works.

 

[38Chevy454]

The $100 Grand candy bar idea is a great creative way to wrap up something, that the check can be included with. I agree that much cash, while not illegal, would cause potential problems and worse case gov't taking it assuming it is from illegal activity. I don't trust gov't as they could ignore any proof you have and confiscate that cash. Huge piles of cash only works for Uncle Sam sending to foreign gov'ts in the middle of the night.



The tax forms are simple enough and can be done on the side from the gift ceremony. Don't worry about that. Very nice of you and especially your wife giving that gift to the sons.

 

[HarveyS]

Giving large sums of cash to either one of my daughters would cause them some problems, since they do not use a brick and mortar bank. Everything is online for them.

Maybe a big stack of benjamins would change their view.

 

[Franklin]

Cute idea but a lot could go wrong. My suggestion is to place a $100 bill in the box with another note that says there is 999 more of these available in the next envelope (then enclose a check for 99,900.00) Same effect but less hassle and risk. You also will have a good paper trail if ever needed. Take those Franklins seriously.

 

[sengsational]

In about a year or so, an annuity that DW has will mature. She wants to gift the proceeds of about $100K to each son.

Great idea! My focus would be less on the risks and more on how the recipients would react. My one daughter would probably be annoyed with the hassle factor, but smile through it, and the other would probably be fearful of something bad happening before the deposit (stressed out). Neither has a local bank, afaik, which complicates things. In my case the annoyance/fear of that style of gifting would probably outlive me. Eventually it may become family legend, but not something I would do. But I'm pretty boring.

 

[pacergal]

Souschef--
Love you and your wife's sharing hearts!
I would be wary of that much cash though. I like the idea of the 100K candy bar with the check beneath it, love and laughter go together
I also like the thought of giving them each something from their Father, if she has anything. Even a small handwritten note of some of her memories of the boys with their Dad. (assuming is was a good relationship).

What generous folks you are, always good to be able to share your blessings.

 

[OldShooter]

The box of cash is a clever and dramatic idea, subject to all the comments here.

If you do decide to go that way, I'd talk to your bank branch manager ahead of time to get the cahs and to arrange that the kids can bring their cash boxes back to the branch and get the cash turned into deposits or cashier's checks. That should grease a lot of the procedures the the bank is required to go through.

Any bank will be happy to have the opportunity of meeting people with $100K in available cash, so the branch manager will be happy to help. He will probably try to sic the bank's financial advisors on the kids, so they need to be fireproofed against that.

 

[SecondCor521]

I agree with others , that a ton of cash is fraught with dangers. So a Regular check to each would be fine.

No idea why people are thinking cashiers check, it's not like OP is a stranger.

I suggested a cashier's check mainly because it is fancier in my mind than a regular, ordinary check. But a cashier's check would also likely clear a bit faster when the sons go to deposit it, which would allow them to move the money a bit faster into whatever they would use it for.

 

[Sojourner]

Looks like it's called a 100 Grand bar now, which is good enough if you like that idea.

+1

One other fun idea would be to look up (say, using Google Images) a picture of a $100,000 bank note, print it out using a color printer, and put in in the gift box on top of the actual check for $100k. Something like this:

 

[Jerry1]

+1

One other fun idea would be to look up (say, using Google Images) a picture of a $100,000 bank note, print it out using a color printer, and put in in the gift box on top of the actual check for $100k. Something like this:

Interesting to read what is written on that note. Outside of the cash idea, this one is pretty good.