Having had to work for my own college education and knowing how difficult and slow-going that was, I want to ensure that (at least a large percentage) of the needed money is there for my son’s higher education. But again, since I had to pay my own way through school, costly mistakes were felt more deeply. I partied much less and -tried- to apply myself much more than most of my peers, because failing a class had very tangible fiscal repercussions.

Like others have said, I have no intention of spoiling our son, but I also don’t want to see him miss opportunities because of some rigid sensibility about financial independence.

Till then,

Jean

Ideally I’d like to leave behind a fairly substantial trust that would continue to payout the same income I was earning, but to a few specific charitable organizations. A lofty goal – but I’m only 28, so I’ve got a bit of time to figure it all out.

Definitely want to leave something for future childrens-to-be (crosses fingers) – but I have yet to figure out what that will look like. I think helping them with major life milestones (school/wedding/house) is almost just as good, maybe even better.

I am kind of split on this topic however. My parents never gave my siblings nor myself an allowance. Occasionally they would pay us for doing chores or yardwork etc. For the most part, if my two elder brothers and I wanted anything, we would generally find a way to get it. Most of the time it was never handed to us. Which I can really be grateful to my parents for doing. I had a paper route when I was 8-13 or so and I always had money to spend.

My parents paid for half of my mountain bike when I was 12. After that, we purchased entirely, a computer, Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gameboys…everything like that. It worked out rather nicely. From 13 and up I always had a part time job. I didn’t go to post secondary, and I know my parents gave my other 3 siblings some money from an educational savings plan.

I purchased my first car at 18, and my first house at 19 without any help from my parents. And I have no problem with that at all. I am actually glad that I was forced to be self sufficient growing up.

I have no desire to spoil my future children (assuming I am fortunate enough to have some) however, in the same token, I would not sit back and watch them suffer financially. So I would definitely help them out financially, if they required it. Especially with the basic necessities of life. If they are suffering with credit card debt because of frivilous spending on the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos…I wouldn’t be very sympathetic towards their cause.

Down payment on a car or house, wedding, and or post secondary or business venture I would have no issue with that either.

I grew up in a family where there was the “promise” of a large inherritance coming…but the older I get the less confident I feel it will be there. I resent that people that sit on money that they have no intention of spending while their kids and grandkids struggle…to me that just isn’t right. An inherritance isn’t going to make that much of a difference to me when I’m 60 but could make a huge difference to the quality of my life at age 30.

One idea I liked is the concept of having your beneficiaries pay for your life insurance to ease the tax burden of any estate assets passing to them. Ultimately, it is for their benefit so they should pay the freight.

I hope that our children will not need anything to be passed down, that they will all be self-sufficient and comfortable. Like others, I think I will provide more help by winding down certain assets and giving it to them while I can see them enjoy it. Ideally this would mean taking care of their children to give them an easier start to life (should that happen – my wife doesn’t even want to hear a whisper about her becoming a grandmother in the next few years!).

I certainly don’t expect to see anything of consequence passed down from my parents. As long as we aren’t burdened with their debts, I’d prefer they enjoy their remaining years taking care of themselves rather than worrying about us.

This solves a lot of tax issues, and control issue. It is also the best way to keep it in the blood line.

Also, this is probably a really good way to leave an inheritance from a divorce perspective. I know no one plans on being divorced, but after reading about planning for it, I think that this type of inheritance wouldn’t be split in the event of a breakup.

It seems ideal to me. A large inheritance could be crippling to an irresponsible child, but continuous passive income would be great for anyone.

Any thoughts on that ??

GTP

But beyond that… I would say it all goes to charity… for similar reasons to Warren Buffet’s opposition to the elimination of estate taxes as a stepping stone to plutocracy.

Actually, the $ is the easy part. The conundrum for me is what to do with some cherished personal possessions that i would like to keep in the family. My sister’s older than me, so would make sense to leave it to my brothers, but i don’t know if they’d value these things the way i do. Better than having it end up in an anonymous estate sale, i guess.

There comes a point in any savers life where they begin to relax and realize the fruits of their labour. Not to say its necessary to blow every last cent before your under a tomb stone, but you should enjoy. I don’t expect anything from my parents, and to be honest I sincerely hope they enjoy with what they have.

If you have an abundance of money, riches, say approximately greater than 10 million, well… then it would be nice to donate a percentage to charity. Else if you are just a regular middle class worker / saver, it may not be realistic to be a donor.

Great discussion, very thought provoking!

InvestAssetWealth

Just sayin…