How much money are you leaving your kids after you die?

[ThankYouJack]

I'm curious, especially for those with assets (or planned assets) over $1million. Do you plan to leave your kids nothing, some or everything?

[RickBoglehead]

We had 529 accounts for both our kids that did not get emptied. We're the owners, they were the beneficiaries. We simply changed the beneficiary on each to myself, and they have no idea that the accounts have funds left. We plan on utilizing both for future grandchildren, and will convey that at the appropriate time.

As to leaving funds outside of the 529s, we're several years from retirement and have no plans to leave anything. In other words, while we're not planning on passing away with just enough for a funeral, we haven't sat down and said "let's leave them $X". We strongly feel that each should stand on their own, make their own lives, and not depend on anything if we pass away. We'll be generous with gifts, we'll lend a helping hand when we can (equally, and within reason), but they don't know the extent of our assets and we don't plan on telling them at least until such time as one or both of us need assistance with managing funds or assets from them, if that ever occurs. We plan on enjoying retirement and right now it appears that we'll end up with very little. If the market returns better than our projections (3.5%), we'll have something to leave (or more to spend). Or if we pass away sooner.

[smitcat]

I'm curious, especially for those with assets (or planned assets) over $1million. Do you plan to leave your kids nothing, some or everything?

The plan is to leave them something - but plans can change sometimes.

[greg24]

To be determined. Hopefully I won't find out for a very long time.

[flyingaway]

Whatever is left when we are gone will be to my two sons. But we do not have anything particularly set up for them.

[annielouise]

Our estate plan leaves everything to our son (only child, will not have grandchildren). It could be anything from $0 to $8M based on projections. Unfortunately, because of his health, there is a greater than usual chance that at least one of us will outlive him. We need to update our trust to make the contingency what we want now (which has changed since we created it).

[hicabob]

I'm starting to believe in the old saying ... “It is better to give with a warm hand than a cold one.” meaning it's better to give when you are alive and can see the benefit of your gift rather than waiting until you are dead.

[Steelersfan]

They'll get it all and they know it. And it's likely to be quite a lot. They don't know how much (nor do I). I leave it to their imagination what "quite a lot " is.

I also gift them a nice amount each year. That's happened for the last ten years and will continue.

[Alexa9]

It's kind of a weird concept with (probably a minority) of greedy people looking forward to their parent's death with siblings to fight over possession. I'd rather see my children receive a gift or help if needed while I'm alive and give most to charity.

[staythecourse]

What my perfect situation is to set up some charity to give away money each year and they can have a set salary to administer that charity. That way they make some extra money by WORKING and hopefully lets them see the benefits of helping those less fortunate.

Good luck.

[curmudgeon]

We have, or will likely, receive several inheritances. Significant, but not huge (total less than $1M). In my mind, I treat that like a family emergency fund; I would spend it on needs but not luxuries, and I would prefer to pass at least that much on to our kids.

Our kids are in their 30's, and set on pretty solid financial paths, though they may not make as much as I did in my career. We have, and will likely continue to, pass along some of our resources in what I think of as non-disruptive ways. We try not to set expectations, but we foot the bill sometimes for a more expensive joint vacation, and may help out with grandkids education expenses. It's likely that any future inheritances We receive will be passed along to the kids, either directly or via cash gifts spread over several years.

For the rest, at present it's left to the kids. Depending on tax laws as time progresses, we may consider designating a portion to charity, or we may ask the kids to consider donating a portion of what they receive (my Mom did that, and it was a very positive experience). We plan to review every 10 years or so.

[WhiteMaxima]

For what? Do they have their own brain and hands? I will leaving nothing to them to waste on vacations and sport car. However I leave a mega 529 for future generation high education and it's tax free.

[mrmass]

I have a co worker that mentions he's getting money when his parents die...he's up to his ears in debt, spends money like he can't wait (he doesn't say it) for them to die. Seems like an odd "retirement" plan. wait for parents to die...

[minimalistmarc]

What my perfect situation is to set up some charity to give away money each year and they can have a set salary to administer that charity. That way they make some extra money by WORKING and hopefully lets them see the benefits of helping those less fortunate.

Good luck.

No offence but that sounds very controlling

[mmmodem]

Being first generation immigrants our parents are leaving us with bills. Therefore, our gift to our children would be to leave them with nothing. That is unless we die early.

[Thegame14]

I am still young and have lots of time, but right now about $1M in assets, mostly Real Estate(vacation house I am inheriting, and my own home equity) and 401K, but it all goes to plan, we should have $3-5M in assets when we retire.

My "plan" is to start my own accounting business as a retirement transition, figure out which child is more adept to accounting and plan on them starting out in public accounting but hopefully inheriting the business as their sole job or as a side hustle, and then I "retire", other children plan would be to pay for their college degrees, partially, we want them to also work to learn value of education, if it is free what value does it have? And then balance helping them now with large items, like just said college, weddings, first home purchases, setting up accounts for grandchildren when they are born, and then yes, they will eventually inherit whatever I have, but depending on how adept they are at finances I will either give them the money in inheritance, or if they are not good with finances, set up a trust for them to only be able to touch earnings, but not principal. Also maybe some caveats to it, depending on how much money I end up with and what type, investments vs real estate.

[T4REngineer]

Well I am 30 and she is 4m so I hope we have many decades to come but if there is extra money (which there should be) we plan to give while still alive helping with things like college, 1st home, wedding, vacations with grandkids if we are so blessed , grandkids college etc. No desire to leave in a casket next to a pile of cash however we will not subsidize delinquency and doubtful we will do a trust of any type as I either trust you or I don't. (or course disabilities, minor children etcs not included)

I am an only child and there is a chance we could inherit much more then enough to retire on from my parents when they pass but as I have made very clear to them - we don't/wont need it and I would much rather they spend it with us or on them vs. when they pass have enough to go buy a Bugatti or two and besides if they pass at 95 that would put me working far longer than desired/planned

*For reference I worked through college but had help from my folks so no loans and they helped with a small down payment on a house after living with them for 6m out of school ( I paid for ~10% and they paid the other ~10% to have no PMI), we split the cost of a car in high school which got me through college and I got to keep in full once graduated also got a 10k lump sum for the wedding which covered the wedding and almost all the honeying moon - Really appreciated those things at the time - a decade later appreciate them even more for the foundation that helped us build is hard to put a value on.

[MN-Investor]

I was shocked they my husband's bachelor uncle left us >$500,000 about 10 year ago.

We have no children, but our nephews and nieces will likewise be surprised to be in my will (my husband passed away in April) and, if I passed away today, would each get >$300,000.

[JuniorBH]

....while we're not planning on passing away with just enough for a funeral, we haven't sat down and said "let's leave them $X". We strongly feel that each should stand on their own, make their own lives, and not depend on anything if we pass away. We'll be generous with gifts, we'll lend a helping hand when we can (equally, and within reason), but they don't know the extent of our assets and we don't plan on telling them at least until such time as one or both of us need assistance with managing funds or assets from them, if that ever occurs. We plan on enjoying retirement and right now it appears that we'll end up with very little. If the market returns better than our projections (3.5%), we'll have something to leave (or more to spend). Or if we pass away sooner.

While our kids are still very little, the above is how we plan to treat it. I haven't had these conversations with my parents, but I imagine they have a similar plan.

[Swampy]

I'm curious, especially for those with assets (or planned assets) over $1million. Do you plan to leave your kids nothing, some or everything?

Simple question with no easy answer, especially if one (or more) of those 'kids' is severely handicapped, a profligate wastrel or has some other equally mind numbing issue.

[Earl Lemongrab]

Being first generation immigrants our parents are leaving us with bills. Therefore, our gift to our children would be to leave them with nothing. That is unless we die early.

You're generally not responsible for your parents bills after they die.

[Earl Lemongrab]

I don't have children. My estate will be split among my many siblings.

[hotpancakes]

I'm young and without children at the moment, so this is obviously just a wild projection, but I'd like to be able to fund my retirement on the inflation-adjusted interest on principal and then leave them with the remainder. Additionally, I'd like to set up Roth IRA(s) and 529(s) starting at birth. Given the outlook on real expected returns, I think starting retirement savings for a child at birth is one of the most generous things a parent can do, assuming they can swing it financially. This is all obviously an optimal case and more of a "north star" than anything, but it's something I strive for.

[leeks]

We have no plans to leave money to our children after death - it could happen but not a goal.

[bloom2708]

Our 3 kids will get whatever we don't spend.

My parents (mid 70s) are still saving. They just forgot how to spend and love to save. My dad drives a 2002 Ford Ranger with > 100k miles.

Hopefully long in the future, I guess, my sister and I will benefit from their miserly ways. All the dollars have to be spent by someone or move to the next generation. Or go to your church or other charities.

I'm dead set on doing a better job of spending. But, we may "fail" like my parents are failing after a lifetime of accumulating. Not the worst scenario to pass along some good fortune to our kids.

[stoptothink]

Not planning on leaving them anything. Our first priority is to not put them in the position that both my parents and in-laws have put us in; having to financially support them in their older age. That being said, with where we are financially at this point (37 and 32, children 6 and 3) and how simply we live, there is a very statistically significant chance that our children will be left with quite a nest egg.

[MikeG62]

DW and I plan to leave everything once the last of us passes to our two adult daughters. Barring unprecedentedly bad financial markets between now and then, they will be very well off.

If we live a long time and assuming financial markets cooperate, we’ll probably begin meaningful annual gift giving to them at some (the warm hand concept being better than the cold one mentioned above). Right now we are still fairly young (me 56 and DW 54) so I’d want to be considerably further along before beginning meaningful gift giving (making sure we don’t give away money we may need).

[LiterallyIronic]

I don't have assets (or planned assets) of over $1 million, but I want to bounce my last check. My dad always says that we should expect about four dollars when he dies, and that's probably about what my daughter will get, too.

[bengal22]

Current plan is to leave 90% to kids and about 10% to church and perhaps other charities.

[NotWhoYouThink]

They'll get what we don't manage to spend. Our lifestyle probably won't change much, although a little spending creep if the markets are kind to us wouldn't be a bad thing.

Our biggest gift to them will be our ability to support ourselves with no need for them to budget for our care. Our second greatest gift will be to start planning now to hire the help and make the life changes required to stay independent as long as possible, instead of being "independent." "Independent" is the condition where you pretend you are taking care of yourselves, but your kids are running themselves ragged managing your care.

[SGM]

I have been contributing to Roth IRAs for my children since they had their first summer jobs. I continue to contribute while they have full time jobs and act responsibly. One came to a national BH meeting and seemed to learn a lot about the BH ways.

[wander]

We will plan to spend all of our money.

[fourwheelcycle]

I wanted to leave half to our children and half to charity. My wife wanted to leave everything to our children. We ultimately agreed to leave 75% to our children and 25% to charity.

[JoeRetire]

I'm curious, especially for those with assets (or planned assets) over $1million. Do you plan to leave your kids nothing, some or everything?

We have over $1M in assets.

We plan to leave the kids whatever is left - nobody else will get anything.

Depending on how the market does, that could be quite a lot, just a lot, or perhaps a little (unlikely).

[quantAndHold]

We’ve told them not to expect anything. Which isn’t really true, they’ll get something. But since I'm still in my 50’s, it’ll hopefully be awhile before any of us knows how much. Our intention is to give most of it away. The kids are all doing fine on their own.

When wife and I were first getting to know each other and our respective finances, wife had nothing saved and a mortgage she could barely handle. I asked what she was going to do about retirement. Her plan was to inherit it. I let out a little yelp, and started helping her sort out her finances.

Which was a good thing, since her mom lived to 94, and after the estate was settled, wife got $34,000. This is why we tell the kids not to expect anything. It’s better that way.

[Earl Lemongrab]

I don't have assets (or planned assets) of over $1 million, but I want to bounce my last check. My dad always says that we should expect about four dollars when he dies, and that's probably about what my daughter will get, too.

That's always a nice quip, but the reality is that the future is so uncertain that if you try to run close to the wire you'll end up with some unexpected event wiping you out. You don't want to be bouncing those checks before you die. Medical and skilled nursing care can be quite expensive even with insurance, and you have no way of knowing whether any of that will be needed.

I prefer to have a large "cushion" that probably won't be needed. That will then go to my family if not used. Which is okay, because I like them.

[carolinaman]

We are retired ages 74 and 75. We have $1M+ in savings and currently live off pensions and SS. I hope the majority of our savings goes to our children but that depends on our health and need for assisted living/nursing homes. Extended illnesses can put a dent in our savings but should not deplete it.

We have made some gifts to our kids already and will likely do more over the years.

[bigred77]

If my wife and I were to die tomorrow, my 8 month old son would stand to inherit just about $1M.

This reminds me that I really do have to shore up our estate planning

[cadreamer2015]

I like the line from the movie “Descendants:” Leave them enough so they can do anything but not so much that they can do nothing.

Our kids will get everything we don’t spend. I expect that will be a respectable amount, but not enough that they can quit their jobs and live on the beach drinking mai tais (not that they would want that life.)

[Broken Man 1999]

I'm curious, especially for those with assets (or planned assets) over $1million. Do you plan to leave your kids nothing, some or everything?

Well, plans sometimes go awry.

FIRST ACTIVITY (Assume DW and I are both dead):
1. Some gifts to favorite charities/people not family members

THEN, REMAINDER OF ESTATE:
2. One half to children. One half to grandchildren.

Or, DW or I or even both of us could spend every dime at a facility that is like Hotel California.

I have little hope or belief things will work out perfectly as I envision. And, that is OK, I will have done my best.

Broken Man 1999

[mmmodem]

Being first generation immigrants our parents are leaving us with bills. Therefore, our gift to our children would be to leave them with nothing. That is unless we die early.

You're generally not responsible for your parents bills after they die.

We are if they are the same bills we're paying right now while they are living.

[wolf359]

I believe the most valuable inheritance I can provide is:
- Happy memories of a childhood in a stable home.
- A launch into a successful and independent life and career.
- A college education that did not leave them burdened with debt.
- Knowledge of how to handle their financial and personal lives successfully.

After reading "The Millionaire Next Door," I have been really reluctant to provide what Dr. Stanley called "Economic Outpatient Care," which works against those goals above.

That said, they're going to get everything we don't use. The amount is irrelevant. If we fail, then we could leave them millions and they will squander it. If we succeed, we could leave them millions and they won't need it.

[Doom&Gloom]

Whatever is left--if anything.

We will spend what we need to spend or want to spend or give away. What is left passes on when we pass on.

[delamer]

I wanted to leave half to our children and half to charity. My wife wanted to leave everything to our children. We ultimately agreed to leave 75% to our children and 25% to charity.

Just wanted to say how impressed I am that you and your wife were able to agree to split the difference, so to speak. Not all couples work together that well.

Our kids will get everything — however much that turns out to be — in separate trusts.

[TierArtz]

I really can't estimate accurately and hope to have about 40 years left. The eldest of our three children will just be starting college about the time I seriously contemplate retirement (5+ years from now). How much college costs and "who" our children become will greatly impact how the trust fund established for them and their descendants will be amended. We give over 10% of yearly net away now, and may consider a legacy donation to a charity as the years go by. Based on present net worth, projected investments and returns, and avoiding all expensive mid-life crises and/or an early demise, each kiddo should have income from mid seven figure shares.

[Sheepdog]

Assuming we haven't needed to spend it, especially for health and long term care, we have willed our 2 sons half each of our Roth IRAs (tax free for them) and half each of our I Bonds (about $200K at present). We have willed our traditional IRAs and our house to charities. Anything else of value will be given to our children. (no grandchildren, darn it).
Yes, they have been advised and are fine with this.

[CABob]

Plan A has always been to spend every dollar and bounce the check that goes to the undertaker. At this point however it is most likely that there will be some left over at that time and our intent is to leave it to our two adult children. We have not specifically talked about it to children but I think they are generally aware but probably not aware of the potential amount.

[Earl Lemongrab]

Being first generation immigrants our parents are leaving us with bills. Therefore, our gift to our children would be to leave them with nothing. That is unless we die early.

You're generally not responsible for your parents bills after they die.

We are if they are the same bills we're paying right now while they are living.

Then those are bills that you already have, and they'll stop when your parents die.

[cheese_breath]

Whatever's left.

[Bacchus01]

The plan is nothing.

The reality is probably a lot.

We commit to giving to our kids while we are alive in three key ways:
- Fund their college/tech education
- Fund their kids (our grandkids) college/tech education
- Fund their ROTH IRA for every year they work, matching their income up to the IRA max
- Taking the whole extended family on one big all-expense vacation a year to somewhere flippin fun

The end