Thursday, March 20, 2008

How Would You Feel If Your Kids Gave Away The Money You Left Them?

I saw this article in the NY Times about kids who inherit money and give it away. How would you feel if you left your kids an inheritance and they gave it away?

I would be fine if my (future) kids gave away any money I left them, but I would want them to do it gradually if it were a large amount, not all at once when they're 18 or 25. When you're that young, you often are still trying to figure yourself out. I think I'll still be trying to figure myself out when I'm 30, 40, even 50. I hope I'll get a good sense of myself by 50!

So if I had those kinds of assets, I would create a trust for my kids but have a set amount that could be spent/given away per year. I doubt that my kids are going to get too much money from me before I die and since I plan on living to 100, they'll have had a long time to mature and determine what their needs are.

3 comments:

SavingDiva said...

I would be okay with my kids giving away the money. It would show that they really are financially secure. I would feel much better about them giving it away than blowing it on expensive cars, hookers, and beer.

pedro said...

I do not believe that giving away money is a sign of financial security. It can be the same splurge as buying an expensive car.

calgirlfinance said...

I guess it is a matter of perspective.

SavingDiva, I would agree that anyone in the PF world would think that someone who gives money away is financially secure since that's what we imagine doing.

Pedro, But I also agree with you that it might not be a sign of financial security.