As you can see from the various responses, much of this decision is based on the behavior, past and present, of the children involved. We have real estates assets, etc., we intend to leave our children. Beyond that I'm not concerned. We worked hard for what we have and if we decide to spend it all on enjoying our retirement, so be it.

It’s only money, leave good memories too
 

Be cautious about leaving an inheritance to grandchildren. There is a little known “generation skipping tax” on large estates. Another consideration would be to “gift” annual payments of the allowable $15K to your heirs over several years to reduce the size and possible tax burden of a large inheritance. Leaving appreciated stock instead of cash has a tremendous tax advantage too. Sizable estates need legal guidance regardless, lesser one’s make little difference in what is done or how.

Harsh...

Agreed. :ohdear:

Although using an inheritance to manipulate/punish certainly isn't new, I personally can't fathom the hardheartedness...it takes to do it.

I also can't help but wonder, if the ones who complain about how their adult children turned out ever stop and take a moment to ask if maybe it isn't all that particular child's fault...but in the way they were individually treated/raised? :oops:

Never mind, that was a silly thought, because that would take a self-acknowledgement...that their parenting was poor. :ohdear:

Our son will get whatever is left....after travel, health issues, assisted living ect. ect. ect.

This whole thread makes me sad.. for various reasons..

Ostrich

Me too.
Recommend reading “Beyond the Grave.”

enjoy the wealth that you've accumulated while you are healthy
 

If there is anything left after my wife and I have fully enjoyed having the time of our lives....the kids will get what's left....but the split won't be even-steven...those that have gone out of their way to stay in touch and have taught our grandchildren to write 'thank you notes' get the lion's share

I couldn't agree more. Each person has a different set of parental skills. Judging others about that skill set is clearly Bulling and Guessing.

It your money leave it to who you want the way you like. :pray:

I still like the will reading where the lawyer read to the very needy, greedy waiting children.

Beeing of sound mind and body, your mother and I have spent the lot, the jewelry was sold years ago, and the house was reposessed by the bank ..............and we never did get married!

I kind of wonder WHY she isn't leaving anything to her kids. Her net worth is $20-$24 million. With their luck, she'll give it all to her church.
We never had kids, but we have nieces/nephews, 2 on each side of the family. 2 have always been good to us, acknowledged our gifts over the years with a thank you, the other 2 ... (sounds of crickets.) Guess which 2 are getting whatever is left of our estate.
They were raised right. The other side, not so much.
Karma has no menu. You get served what you deserve. :-)

Both of us promised to write each other a check, so we can take it with us! Giggle snort!

Love it! :1rotfl: :1rotfl: :1rotfl:

We wanted to see any inheritance enjoyed By our kids while we are still here to enjoy seeing the impact it had. We were told to enjoy it ourselves and boy have we.
PS You’ll never see a u-haul behind a hearse.

My husband and I only have one child and that is our daughter. I agree with you that we are leaving everything to her; however, it is easy because we only have one child and don't have to worry about sibling rivalry. That said, I do intend to retire early and enjoy the fruit of my labor but she can definitely have whatever is left over in my retirement account. Also, the life insurance is hers. She is an excellent daughter and I couldn't have prayed for a better child. So glad we had her!

:agree:

A dear friend of mine died at age 66 suddenly and unexpectedly two years ago. She and I used to discuss from time to time how she could best set up her estate plan. She had given it a lot of thought and tweaked it from time to time over the years. Her eldest child was a daughter from her first marriage who had treated my friend like crap for all of the the 27 years I had known her. She had two sons from her second marriage who had turned out fine and were part of her life in every way. She had finally decided to leave the lousy daughter $10K and split the remainder of her estate between her two sons as 50-50 as she could manage. When her will was read her awful daughter got up and walked out when she heard what she got. Karma is a bitch, and a well deserved one in this case. lol.

One of the sons had recently married a woman whose father is an attorney. The daughter-in-law is now stirring the pot alleging that her husband did not get enough.

I cannot lose this creepy feeling I have that my friend had a premonition she was going to die. Over the last year she had too frequently for comfort wanted to discuss with me her estate plan in detail. She kept reviewing it with her financial planner and attorney, too.

Inheritance
 

You hit the nail on the head!

Best will ever.

Being of sound mind and body your mother and I have spent it all.
All the gold and jewellery was sold years ago.
The house was reposessed by the bank, and we owe $2.5 million in back taxes.
If you had ever bothered to see or contact us while we were alive, you would have known all this.

PS. Your mother and I were never married!

All my children have worked hard, saved and built a life for themselves. My parents taught me and I taught my children. Everything I have left will go to the benefit of the future of my family. No guilt, just love.

Life Insurance disbursements are tax free. When you pass, your beneficiaries get the cash without the taxes, unlike other inheritances. Plus, there are other benefits to you, as well. Ed Slott explains: CPA Ed Slott on Tax Free Retirement Using Life Insurance - YouTube

Interesting thread. I am getting ready to change my will, giving each of my two children $15000 per year for the remainder of their life, paid in one lump sum yearly. After their death, the remaining funds will then be paid to the grandchildren, the same way. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I havent talked with an attorney on this yet as I have an undetermined inheritance coming to me still so really dont know what my total estate might be.

I agree with collie1228. I close on my new house in The Villages in a few weeks, and the only reason I can afford it is because my job came with a great retirement plan in mutual funds that kept on growing. I can live on Social Security and 4% of my retirement funds a year and pay for life in TV for decades. My kids have good educations and are great people, but their jobs don’t come with retirement plans, and they don’t pay very well. I’ll be splitting my funds between them when I go, leaving them each a similar retirement plan, not so they will be rich, but so that they can retire on about as much as they had before they retired. That lets me sleep better, without worrying about their future.

Based on your post, I don't think you can accomplish what you want in a will. You will need a trust and a trustee who will manage the money efficiently, and not skim off a lot of management fees, taxes, and other fees. I would evaluate the cost to set up a trust and have it managed for many years. It may not be worth the cost.

Eddie is selling books and seminars.


The IRS exempts estates of less than $11.4 million from the tax in 2019 and $11.58 million in 2020, so few people actually end up paying it. Plus, that exemption is per person, so a married couple could double it. The IRS taxes estates above that threshold at rates of up to 40%.


Married couples with +$20,000,000 are not using insurance to protect a majority of they wealth.


:ohdear:

Love it.

Anyone ever willingly gifted their child with a portion of their inheritance while you are still able to watch them enjoy it?

I'm sorry you have an ungrateful, misguided child, and I'm also sorry you're making a blanket statement about everybody else's kids.


Or maybe you're kidding or trolling.

I believe you need to speak with an Elder Attorney, this is a good link to Attorneys who practice Elder law here in TV : The Villages, FL Elder Law Firms | Lawyers.com

Before we set up our trust and wills I went to many seminars which were very enlightening on the problems people make for themselves when they try to make their own wills etc. One of the main things which I took home from all of these seminars was only leave your estate to your rightful heirs, i.e. the children of the marriage. The reason being is that should there be a divorce, the -in-law can ask for and receive half of your son's/daughter's inheritance. We were also told not to leave money to grandchildren as it is their parents place to take care of their own children. There are many intricacies to leaving money and a good Elder lawyer will steer you in the right direction.

:agree:

Sad that you feel this way.

We are believers in unconditional love.

Would that apply to children like these two? Lyle and Erik Menendez - Wikipedia

I agree. To me, the term "unconditional love" does not seem logical. What about accountability?

My children are in their 50s and have made us extremely proud. They are both retired military, one is a combat vet, all their children are college grads with good careers except my youngest grandchild who just got a full ride to a great university. They both married great guys and have successful long-lived marriages. They call us often as do the grandchildren. Of course they will inherit our estate. That doesn't mean we are denying ourselves toys and luxuries in order to provide for them. We all play a role in how our children turn out so if yours is an ungrateful misguided bum, perhaps you should contemplate the guided part of "misguided".

Great post Rapscallion. Our Children Are Our Greatest Mirrors, I don't know who quoted this, but I agree with it.

:rolleyes: I feel sorry for them..... they are orphans. ;)

Ok, ok. I’ll make an exception for the Menendez brothers. And Charlie Manson.

How about Lizzie Borden, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Ted Kaczynsky...I could go on.