Entz Burton & Associates
By J. Michael Entz
June 20th, 2022
Talking to Your Children About an Inheritance
As a parent, you’ve done all that you can to support your family. Now that you’re going through the estate planning process, you’re starting to think about how you’re going to talk to your children about the assets they will receive upon your passing. Specifically, you’re curious about what and when you should tell your children about their inheritance. You want the conversation to be as smooth and informative as possible, and let your children know you’re looking out for them.
Every family is different. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to talking to your children about an inheritance or your estate planning process. However, it’s good to start talking to children about money early on. While you don’t have to tell them how much money you make or what kinds of assets you have, you can teach them about money and values.
For instance, if your children are still young, you can talk about how money can be used in a good way – to start a business you’re passionate about, help people in need, or pay for a college education. The best way to demonstrate your values is by living them. If your children see you giving money to charities, they are likely to do the same.
If you have adult children, then the situation is different. It’s best to think about how each of your children will react to the news that they have an inheritance by seeing how they deal with money now. For example, you may have no trouble telling one child who is responsible with money about it. However, if you have another child who is not good with money, it could be a harder conversation.
The bottom line is that you need to have a conversation…
Even your children who are good with money may be thrown off when they receive their inheritance and assets. You should tell your children about it beforehand so that they can do their own financial planning. Also, if you are not splitting up the money evenly among your children, it’s a good idea to tell them why. Because, it’ll be less likely that your children will fight over the inheritance. They’ll know that it was your wishes and they need to abide by them.
