Estate Planning When You Do Not Plan to Leave Your Children with an Inheritance
As estate planning attorneys who practice here in Florida, we counsel a number of clients on a broad array of wishes and hopes for their legacy planning. Some of that includes how to discuss potentially sensitive and difficult conversation topics with family, such as informing one’s children that a couple or individual wants to leave their assets to charity or do something else with them instead of passing them onto children and heirs. In fact, according to one study, one in four parents do not plan on leaving an inheritance at all.
With the proper planning, this difficult and somewhat complicated can be handled somewhat smoothly if the appropriate communications are provided so that expectations are clear. This is because people tend to make a lot of assumptions in the face of silence, particularly if they have a specific history of experience with you.
Address It Early
Because discussing your wishes with your family members as soon as possible is so important, we have provided various guidelines on how this can be done so as to avoid conflict. When loved ones feel like they are a part of the process before you pass, it can prevent significant frustration and distress later on. This can be especially important in terms of also providing both plans and funds for your funeral expenses, as it can be especially difficult to figure all of that out while grieving the loss of a loved one.
Check in Regularly to Make Sure It’s What You Still Want
We hear from a number of clients that they do not plan on leaving their children with any funds because their children don’t need anything and they value their financial independence, or they have agreed, as a family, that all assets should be put towards college funds for the grandchildren, or they consider putting their children through college as their inheritance, etc. Some individuals strongly feel that not leaving them with an inheritance is part of helping them learn to be independent adults. However, do keep in mind that one of the most important elements of proper estate planning is keeping things up to date. Your wishes today may be different than they are 10 or 15 years from now, and as a result, estate planning really is about balancing your overall wishes with also adjusting for change based on the conditions around you potentially changing.
Consult The Right Estate Planning Attorney
You have worked hard to make and save money and other assets and you care about what happens to them. Our Orlando estate planning attorneys have helped countless families broach difficult topics like these, and we can help you as well – no matter what your specific wishes are. Contact us today at Gierach and Gierach, P.A. to schedule a consultation and find out more.
Resource:
usatoday.com/story/money/2019/12/15/estate-planning-wrong-to-not-leave-children-inheritance/4385107002/
grfcpa.com/resource/one-in-four-parents-dont-plan-to-leave-inheritance/
nytimes.com/2018/02/27/business/retirement/are-you-leaving-your-children-an-inheritance.html
https://www.gierachlaw.com/estate-planning-for-the-modern-non-traditional-family/
