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I'm a first generation immigrant, and both mine and my husband's parents rely on _us_ for financial support. So, we are not getting any inheritance. I have to say, I like it that way. We know exactly what we can and cannot afford.
Personally, I am not counting on an inheritance. My parents earned their money and they can spend it all they want in their retirement. If they blow it all and leave me $1 I'd be fine with that. I don't need their money and would rather they enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of hard work.
Personally, I am not counting on an inheritance. My parents earned their money and they can spend it all they want in their retirement. If they blow it all and leave me $1 I'd be fine with that. I don't need their money and would rather they enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of hard work.
Here, here. I always tell my mom (who, through hard work and diligent saving has a nice retirement account) that I want to lend her her last $10. She needs to spend every penny she worked so hard to earn, and enjoy herself.
She's certainly doing a good job of spending it - she's about to set out on a 6 week driving tour of the country with a recently retired friend. And a lifetime of being frugal (she has a roommate, she cooks all her own meals, she uses coupons, etc) doesn't hurt either.
I have an uncle in Nigeria I can put you in contact with, he's just dying to give away his millions. Just send me your bank account information and voila, you will be rich.
I was too young when I heard this, but I think my grandmother on my dad's side, owned a LOT of land in Texas. She had like 5 husbands and unfortunately I think they all squandered it from her. I never really knew her, she eventually had Alzheimer's and passed away a couple of years ago.
I knew my grandparents on my mother's side very well. They practically raised me. They passed in the 90's, and owned a modest house. Each sibling got some money from the sale of the house but it wasn't life changing or anything. (Not saying the family wasn't appreciative, just that it wasn't a large amount.)
My parents are still alive and since I'm the only son, I'll most likely (assuming nothing strange happens) inherit their house. Given that SoCal real estate is crazy, it might end up being a decent chunk. However I hope I don't have to think about that for a long while.
Hopefully at that point, my family will be more than "set" and the money from the sale would go straight to the bank and/or to our child's college fund.
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I do have friends that have received large sums from their grandparents, and another who took an "advance" on their inheritance. None of them are "spoiled" or anything of the sort, they just have families who were smart and saved and were in a position to give.
I (and my fiance) get whatever the maximum gift tax limit is each year. My mom would rather give as much as possible to us now tax free than have the feds get their greedy hands on it with inheritance tax.
My grandparents (mom's parents) are very well off cash wise, are in their late 80s, and will likely leave a substantial estate. My mom is one of 3, and my siblings are I (3 also) are the only grandchildren. My grandparents have made it clear to my mom and her sisters that there is no inheritance, that it's all promised to a charity. There are some small insurance policies, and mom and aunts have agreed that one of them ($20k on Grandma who lives in a group home for Alzheimer's and will likely not last another few years) will be split between the 3 grandkids. So mom is not getting a windfall.
Siblings and I stand to inherit a few hundred thousand each from mom when she passes (which she has been informed she is not allowed to do lol). Based on what she has, what her income/spending in retirement looks like, etc etc etc. While I will be grateful for anything I receive, I'd rather have my mom (awww - but it's true I really love her!). So I am not planning for it, nor do I think it'll be lifechanging. It'll go into something. Hopefully will own a home by then, so it'll stay in savings or some such. If I have debt at the time, maybe it'll pay off debt. Something like that. I know I'll get something, but don't think it'll change my life overly much.
Obviously if you are poor, you do the best you can for your family, which may not be much financial help at all. Not their fault.
However, I believe that if you are going to be a parent (and you are middle class or higher), you should manage your wealth in such a way that upon your death, your kids will be at least as well off if not better off than you were. Barring some calamity like a health emergency, major job loss, disaster like house fire, car accident etc..., although you should try to have insurance against those events.
My dad's side of the family did that for 5 generations until my dad mis-managed it. It wasn't all his fault. He had a health crisis which was the main problem and he lost significant amounts related to the S&L crisis in the 1980s, also not his fault, although I don't know why he and my grandmother were involved in S&Ls in the first place. But still, he managed the family wealth very poorly that left behind relatively little for those after him. Unless I significantly surpass my dad's career achievements, I won't be able to make up what was lost in inflation-adjusted terms.
That said, money is replaceable but people are not. I would rather have my dad around than any amount of money. Still, people should try and set their kids up for success. I never understood these families that cut their kids off, or boot them out to "teach them how the world works," etc... My family helped me and I'm going to try and pay it forward to my kids.
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