What are your plans for your children's inheritance?

[Souschef]

I have 2 sons, and DW has 2 sons. All her separate assets will be divided between her sons.
My separate assets are divided 2 ways; half split between my 2 sons, and the other half to DW, with her sons as contingent beneficiaries.
In keeping with my late mother's advice, about giving while you are still alive, all 4 sons get a part of my annual RMD, of between $5K and $10K every year.
My ex is in a house worth $2M as a tear down, and when she dies my 2 sons will share the proceeds. Hopefully at that point I will still be here, in which case I will shift some of the distribution of my assets to DW and her sons.

 

[Chuckanut]

An equal share to each. No favorites. No special needs.

I do gift them money now and then. They don’t ask for it. And there is no need for me to die before I can help them out.

 

[erkevin]

I gave each of my sons $50k each in 2009. I plan on giving them another $100k each in the next year or two. (Used to help them with second home costs.)

Each GC get $10k a year to help with four years of college. After that, it is 50% to charity and 25% each to them at the end.

You are leaving me your condo in PV, right?
Right?

 

[JustCurious]

Ditto what others have said about Gates and Buffet. They are leaving their kids what anyone would consider a fortune but they are dedicating the bulk of their massive estates to charity.

Exactly. Both Gates and Buffett have publicly said they are leaving most of their estate to charity, but not all.

Warren Buffett has a net worth of $83 billion dollars. If he left just 1% of his net worth to each of his children, that would be $830,000,000 each! So even if Warren Buffett gave away almost all of his wealth and left a small fraction to his children they will be very rich indeed.

 

[ivinsfan]

Exactly. Both Gates and Buffett have publicly said they are leaving most of their estate to charity, but not all.

Warren Buffett has a net worth of $83 billion dollars. If he left just 1% of his net worth to each of his children, that would be $830,000,000 each! So even if Warren Buffett gave away almost all of his wealth and left a small fraction to his children they will be very rich indeed.

Yep just another example of the disconnect between the uber-wealthy and regular people. It's "do as I say, not as I do" or the " the money's not really that important"

 

[Moemg]

I give my daughter some yearly and she will inherit whatever is left when I die .

 

[SnowballCamper]

In case of your sudden death, what do you guys plan to leave for your children?



So, what are your plans? Put them on Easy Street, or die with nothing? Or something in the middle?

Our kid will get whatever is left when we expire, no strings attached.

Our plan is to manage her expectation to be that we die poor. Success would be to die on the day we spend the last dollar, and with no debt. So not a very realistic definition for success, but something to strive for, and if we die early, then she gets some extra dough to blow.

EDIT: Oh, and I guess she'll get the house (free and clear).

 

[aja8888]

I expect that death is sudden no matter when it happens. I give DD a lump sum annually and she will get the remaining (IRAs) when I suddenly die.

No grandchildren for me to leave anything to.

 

[ncbill]

An equal share to each. No favorites. No special needs.

I do gift them money now and then. They don’t ask for it. And there is no need for me to die before I can help them out.

Ditto...but I made it clear to the kids that the parents come first, since not being a burden to them (as was one of my parents) is the best inheritance I can leave.

 

[Chuckanut]

Oh, one other thing in my will. The grand-kids only inherit their parent's part of my estate in case somebody dies out of order.

 

[FlaGator]

Marriage in the fear future? Congratulations to you Is this the girl from HS that you reconnected with? Much Happiness to you both.

+1. You’re a good man, FlaGator.

Thank you both!

Yes, this is the HS girlfriend. Wedding next spring. Very fortunate to have found her again, and that she has become the woman she now is Better than a fairy tale - it actually happened and I'm living it

 

[daylatedollarshort]

When our kids were younger we had the money go to a trust with one of our parents in charge of the trust, and the money doled out to the kids at certain adult ages. Now that the kids are older and so far we can see that both are pretty good at handling money. We updated our wills and trust documents to leave the money directly to them with the oldest as executor. I would like to leave them enough each to help them retire early, too.

 

[Dtail]

Still have a complex will to set in place, since the DGF and I have 5 children between us, but none with each other.

 

[marko]

No kids but we have 7 nieces and nephews on DW's side in addition to my brother.

We have a hefty sum.

When both DW and I depart, a large portion goes to provide ongoing support to my disabled brother, and the rest is split 7 ways.

Once my brother departs, 50% goes to the rehab hospital that helped him so much and the residue is split 7 ways again.

Some of the N&Ns are highly responsible, some will suffer from "lottery winner's syndrome" but that'll be their problem.

 

[KenZ71]

Haven't yet setup the legal structure but I've told my kids & nephews the college savings I have for them is for college but first they must demonstrate good grades. Dont need to pay for a semester at beer U.

Also told them if they don't goto college I'll use said funds to either buy them trade tools or payment on a house. Conditions being either established career in trade or a house & mortgage.

Again, goal is they must demonstrate dedication. Could give check for downpayment but that is too easy. No one gave me or my parents huge sums.

 

[Toocold]

We have 2 teenager kids, so if DW and I go poof now, my SIL will become executor and our kids will get 50/50 at different points of their lives.

 

[pb4uski]

We have two grown children.... 35 yo married daughter and 30 yo single son, respectively. DD attended college at our expense and DS has thus far decided not to attend college despite our encouragement that the funding is there if he wants to. They are both financially independent, financially responsible and are both prodigious savers and investors.

Plan is for whatever is left once the second of us die to be split 50/50.... but interestingly DD advocates that DS should get more since he didn't go to college and earns less and we may well do that... but it is 50/50 in our wills and beneficiary designations right now.

While I haven't acted on it, DD is a high earner and in a high tax bracket and DS ears less and is in a lower tax bracket... I have thought of perhaps having DS inherit more tax-deferred money (adjusted to recognize the taxes that will be due upon withdrawal) and DD inherit more Roth money.

But we intend to treat them equally and that is in our current wills but we may adjust things to reduce the total that Uncle Sam gets while making the after-tax amounts the same.... and may adjust for college costs as DD advocates.

While DS isn't financially sophisticated, rather than try to hamstring what he receives with a trust I'll probably just include a letter of advice about what to do with his inheritance and how to invest it and to get DD's advice.

 

[MarieIG]

I really need to get around to updating those wills before I retire . . .

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Haven't yet setup the legal structure but I've told my kids & nephews the college savings I have for them is for college but first they must demonstrate good grades. Dont need to pay for a semester at beer U.

Also told them if they don't goto college I'll use said funds to either buy them trade tools or payment on a house. Conditions being either established career in trade or a house & mortgage.

Again, goal is they must demonstrate dedication. Could give check for downpayment but that is too easy. No one gave me or my parents huge sums.

Yep, as I said earlier in this thread, you want to help without discouraging them from learning how to manage their finances properly. My parents did stuff like they had me pay a little rent to live with them for a few months after college, but then when I was moving out they gave it all back to me for a down payment and furniture for the apartment. Then they would send my partner or me a check sometimes if we got a new job or promotion, and they'd say congratulations, update your work wardrobe to make a good first impression, and/or just treat yourselves to dinner...without going into debt. They knew we were saving and were frugal, so they wanted to reward us so it wouldn't seem like such a grind, and to keep us motivated and encouraged to keep up the LBYM lifestyle.

 

[HFWR]

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah Baby!

That's the goal. Die on the day you run out of dough. With a prepaid funeral of course!

 

[street]

Well, the way I plan for it to happen, is when both of us are gone, to go the our son and charity. You never know what will happen in life and there may not be anything left to give.
I really hope I have some left to share.

 

[NW-Bound]

Yeah Baby!

That's the goal. Die on the day you run out of dough. With a prepaid funeral of course!

Why a prepaid funeral? Is there a law requiring your survivors to pay for your funeral?

If nobody steps up, I believe the state will have to cough up for a cremation.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

DW and I just drew up a new estate plan (wills & trusts). Our two children are now 25 & 23 and everything is split 50-50 with no strings attached. Each would inherit approx. $3 million.


Each have been given a copy of all documents which includes a letter of advice on how to handle the money. To summarize it says:


- Add these funds to your existing Vanguard accounts (75% Total Stock - 25% Int'l)
- Take no more than 2% annually now, and no more than 4% after retiring.
- Keep working and adding 10% of your income to your Roth IRA's (VG target 2060)


Pass it on to your children when you're done.

 

[kcowan]

You are leaving me your condo in PV, right?
Right?

No you will have to earn it!

(I consider it a lifestyle expense, so if it is worth anything, the boys will share is equally. They are on title.)