By Bill Yee
“Money is the root of all evil!” — The Apostle Paul
Is an inheritance a blessing or a curse? Baby Boomers will be leaving the next generation one of the largest inheritances in American history. It is estimated that the transfer of wealth will be over $53 trillion! This is what is referred to as generational wealth.
A question: Does generational wealth make your kids weak?
Warren Buffet’s and Bill Gates’ relatives will inherit only a portion of their fortunes. Both began to dis-tribute their wealth early while they are still living. According to Gates, “It’s not a favor to kids to have them have huge sums of wealth. It distorts anything they might do, creating their own path.”
Is having a large estate a curse or blessing? It is a blessing because you have worked hard and have something to show for it. Your heirs will smile and have a good feeling about you when they get the attorney’s notification of their good fortune.
It could be a curse, however, because the heirs may not deem the intentions of the will or living trust fair.
How often do you hear families splitting apart due to arguments over how that wealth is distributed?
How often do you hear relatives, siblings or children become estranged because they felt they didn’t get their fair share? It’s not only arguments over real estate but jewelry, valuable collections, stock portfolios, etc.
An inheritance can be used as a way to get back at a relative, a sibling, or child for past transgressions and insults, and that can cause resentments.
Are you worried your heirs will blow everything you worked so hard for?
I guess an inheritance should not be conditional and obviously you will not be around to see how your hard-earned money is spent.
From the beneficiary’s point of view, an inheritance should not be viewed as an entitlement but rather a gift.
To avoid this potential conflict among heirs, a friend of mine said he doesn’t plan to leave his kids anything. He is going to spend it all in his “golden years”!
A question I have for beneficiaries is this: Is an inheritance really “yours”? You only “earned” it by being related to a person.
How do you avoid infighting over an estate? I guess the logical thing to do is to sit down with your heirs and make clear your wishes.
Many times this does not happen because of our attitudes toward death. We find it awkward to talk about death and so avoid that conversation!
I had a friend who died a few years ago. He had started bank accounts at multiple banks to take advantage of favorable interest rates. He didn’t let his wife or kids know. They discovered the accounts in his mail and had to look for the passwords.
Another strategy would be to begin to distribute some of your wealth early. There are tax advantages to this! You would also have the pleasure of benefiting from the appreciation of those you have gifted with your treasures.
Another way, depending on the size of your estate, is giving a portion to a charity or nonprofit with a great mission. I remember that many JAs gave a lot money for the establishment of the Japanese American National Museum to preserve JA history. A donation to the American Cancer Society certainly would move us closer to a cure for many forms of cancer in the future.
In the end, is getting your “fair share” a blessing or a curse? Is it worth losing the relationship with your loved ones?
Addendum
Just wanted to acknowledge two emails for my last two columns. Thanks to both Rafu readers for their comments. Reaction from one of the readers was quite surprising. The encouragement keeps me writing.
Bill Yee is a retired Alhambra High School history teacher. He can be reached at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of TheRafu Shimpo.