Many people struggle with the question whether it is better to leave their children an inheritance or not. It is not an easy question to answer.
Recently, FOX Business reported on a survey that found some 23% of retired Americans would prefer to spend all of their money and not leave their children an inheritance in "Should You Leave Your Kids an Inheritance?"
They asked Dave Ramsey for his opinion on the subject. Ramsey suggested that if you have bad kids, then, leaving an inheritance for them just rewards their misbehavior. He went on to say that if you have good kids, then not leaving them an inheritance teaches them money is evil. However, that is not the entire story.
It is understandable why a parent would not want to leave an inheritance to a child who has an unhealthy lifestyle. No parent wants to give a child money that would just fuel a drug habit, for example.
With good estate planning, however, a parent can actually leave an inheritance that encourages the misbehaving child to straighten up and does not give the child funds for bad behavior.
Another possibility is to skip the child with bad habits or behaviors and instead give the inheritance to grandchildren or other relatives.
There are several options for estate planning around a misbehaving adult child.
Visit an estate planning attorney to learn more about them and how you can use them.
Reference: FOX Business (Oct. 12, 2016) "Should You Leave Your Kids an Inheritance?"
