5 reasons why you should spend your kids’ inheritance
Although we have sent out in previous newsletters articles on famous people planning to disinherit their children. There can actually be some sound financial reasons for “SKI’ing” read on….
Thought of Spending your Kids’ Inheritance? This concept now even has a new term dubbed “SKI’ing” – Spend Your Kids’ Inheritance much like many of the celebrities we have reviewed in the past have done. Below are five reasons why this is a great idea…
1. Life is way too short to delay having fun
You’ve worked all your life despite the long hours, difficult bosses, obstacles to overcome, and endless deadlines. If you’ve built yourself a healthy nest egg, this is the result of your time, effort, and energy. As a 93-year-old man recently told one of our advisers: “I’ve been saving my whole life for a rainy day; now it’s a rainy day”. Just as this gentleman pointed out, now is the time to be reaping the rewards of your hard work, not sitting back on a nest egg that has taken you a lifetime to build. Think of things you’ve always wanted to do, and go and do them. This could include:
- Exotic or domestic travel
- Achieving something you always put off
- An item or experience you always wanted or once wanted
- Spending more time with relatives, children, and grandchildren
- Check off your “Bucket List”.
2. There’s a 50% chance your kids will blow it
Research in the United States has indicated that half of all inheritances are either spent or ‘lost’ by various methods. If there’s a fifty-fifty chance your kids will just spend or lose it, you may as well enjoy it yourself first!
3. Your children won’t remember “the stuff”
If your goal of providing an inheritance is to enrich your children’s lives, then cash might not be the best way to do it. Think about the good times in your life and you’ll find that most of your positive memories are based on experiences, not money. Consider spending their inheritance with them rather than just gifting it after you pass away. This is a great way to make memories that your children will cherish long after their inheritance has been spent.
4. Develop your children’s values
One of the most common wishes among parents worldwide is a desire to see their children make it on their own. The overwhelming majority of financially successful people are first-generation wealth builders, meaning they didn’t inherit their money but accumulated it from saving, investing, or building a business – or a combination of all those things. The values of hard work, dedication, and frugality are almost universal among financially successful people. Most people appreciate that handing such values down to your kids is very important. As such, leaving a large inheritance to your children may be more harmful than helpful. This is because like anything in life, the less we work for something the less we seem to value it. Giving your children a large inheritance can create a sense of privilege and reduce their desire to work as hard as you did.
Most of the world’s wealthy elite also realize this, and in recent years people as diverse as Warren Buffet, Michael Bloomberg, Sting, and Bill Gates have all taken steps to give away their fortunes instead of passing it to the next generation.
5. Legal costs, delays, and challenges to your Will
Winding up a deceased Estate can be a costly affair, and even firms who provide Wills for ‘free’ will be taking a cut from the Estate. This cut can be substantial and undermines any sum you intend to leave behind.
After losing a loved one, the last thing people want to deal with is the time, paperwork, and hassle of settling an Estate. Even if the deceased has an up-to-date Will, there are still legal challenges, and the whole process does progress more smoothly and simply, typically beneficiaries will have to wait around six weeks for Probate to be granted and then another six months from there before any distribution can be made.
However, when grief and money are combined, the family dynamic can rapidly change. As the Estate is wound up and lawyers or Estate professionals must work with people who may not agree or who don’t adequately communicate with each other, there can quickly be significant complications. Such complications can make this process take well over a year, and in some cases several years. (Anecdotally, it is often reported that the spouses of the children of the deceased are the most difficult during this time. Also keep in mind that no one ever expects their own Will to be contested, even though so many are).
Challenges to Wills are becoming increasingly common. There are numerous criteria for this to occur, and even the implications of an unsuccessful challenge can result in higher costs, longer delays, and almost certainly ill-feeling among family members.
To avoid the issues above tainting your legacy, consider enjoying the fruits of your labour before lawyers become the only winners.
5 reasons why you should spend your kids’ inheritance
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This material is for general information and educational purposes only. Information is based on data gathered from what we believe are reliable sources. It is not guaranteed as to accuracy, does not purport to be complete and is not intended to be used as a primary basis for investment decisions.