Split up any inheritance by percentage. Keep it simple. No problem treating screw ups as screw ups. The kids should be treated with the same percentage. If they are still under 21 hold some money in a trust till they are.
Care to weigh in on how you would divide inheritance
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Spend it all. Give them opportunity as you can, spend the cash on good booze and expensive toys.
Retired Guy
Minister of Fire
Equally. Wife and I have the problem that both her and my siblings are more well off than we are and really don't need money; leaving us with the question of who to leave it to. Maybe friends kids is the answer.
I'd like to say, as a child who got a letter from the funeral home that handled my fathers burial & services informing me of his passing, don't be mean or spiteful, please.
Legitimate reasons, I agree with 100%.
Bull chit reasons like "you've never been responsible, and you are a disappointment to me, so when I am dying, you will not be informed", etc, really cause a lot of emotional damage. Unneeded damage, and unmerited.
Just putting that out there.
Legitimate reasons, I agree with 100%.
Bull chit reasons like "you've never been responsible, and you are a disappointment to me, so when I am dying, you will not be informed", etc, really cause a lot of emotional damage. Unneeded damage, and unmerited.
Just putting that out there.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Seasoned Oak, my answer to your question varies greatly depending on whether that child in your avatar is your son or grandson. What is the age of your heirs?
Also, what is the size of the estate? Tens of thousands... tens of millions?
Also, what is the size of the estate? Tens of thousands... tens of millions?
If you've got something extra, buy a piece of forested acreage next to a park or state land and give it to a land trust or other organization that will preserve it, or find out what tracts they would like to acquire and assist them financially.
Thats my youngest son. He is 7.Also a 9 a 17 and a 33. But i am 57 so. time to start thinking of these things. My question pertains to how you guys might do it. Since i value the opinion of most of the members here just as much as folks i deal with in person on a day to day basis. So far im pretty much in agreement with most of the posts here.
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Its sad to take old grievances and hard feelings to the grave. My dad did that too toward some of his lifelong friends, and taught me a lesson of what NOT to do.
The will is no place for spitework.
FanMan
Feeling the Heat
I know a family that jointly owns a sizable piece of prime riverfront property... the ancestor died leaving a narrow strip to each family member... so narrow that nobody could sell without several of the others also selling, thus insuring that the property would remain in the family.
My friends kids have all made marginal decisions in life and after he had his will drawn up he let them know that they would all get an equal share when they made it to retirement age. He set up some sort of trust to administer it. His theory is that they way they are going they are never going to save enough money other than SS (if it exists) so the money will be appreciated when they need it most
I am definitely not a fan of leaving a plot of land or a camp to a family group. Sounds good to begin with but unless you leave a big endowment it ends up that one or two of the family end up doing all the work and the rest sponge off of it.
I am definitely not a fan of leaving a plot of land or a camp to a family group. Sounds good to begin with but unless you leave a big endowment it ends up that one or two of the family end up doing all the work and the rest sponge off of it.
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This is something that has to be well thought out. Iv seen inheritances divide families permanently. Probably NOT what was intended.
To prevent family hard feelings and squabbles, anybody that feels like kicking off soon could bequeath their assets to the Moderators at hearth.com. We are here to help.
That's just the kind of website we are.
That's just the kind of website we are.
bubbasdad
Burning Hunk
Split it up equally. Unless you have a child with special needs, then you might do something different. We don't have children, so we are thinking about neices and nephews. But that may change, we see very little of them, they seem like strangers to me. Might leave it to a animal group, but then again, there might not be much left!! 
Don't forget to leave an endowment to manage it - we have a regional charity that is going bankrupt and selling off properties because it took on too much responsibility without the accompanying cash to manage things properly.
The idea was that they would get a lot of donations from the public when they were first set-up, but us Canucks are a lot less philanthropic than you Yanks.
The system works ok in the UK with the National Trust, but I guess we're even more tight than the Brits...
Ashful
Minister of Fire
In your situation, I'd set up a trust for the three youngest, and put 75% of the estate into the trust, the other 25% going directly to the 33 year old. You need to name a trustee for the estate (pref. NOT one of your kids), and a guardian for the kids. Depending on their place in life, I'd probably be looking toward the 33 year old as primary guardian, but you should also name a secondary. There should be instructions (not part of the will, but as a separate memorandum) dictating how the trust is to be invested and managed. The will should include the definition of terms upon which money will be paid out of the trust to the three younger children (eg. certain amounts for college, marriage, payouts at given ages, etc.). There should also be a statement to release money (perhaps even more than their 25% share) for emergency medical expenses. It is typically very unwise to give an 18 or 21 year old access to their entire inheritance, so we chose to set milestones for payouts (college graduation, wedding, age 30, etc.).
The estate manager should be a paid position, perhaps $5k - $15k per year, depending on the size of the estate. Consider an average growth rate of 7% per year on your estate, and then decide on the estate manager's compensation as some portion of that growth. The guardian will also need regular money out of the estate, some portion to be determined by you up front, and the other to be at the discretion of your estate manager (see memorandum above).
We are actually going thru this process right now. Unfortunately, although there is significant money available to put into a trust, and I have selected someone I respect to be trust manager, we have no siblings or close family of suitable age who we fully trust to be responsible guardians. I have some questions the group may help me with on that matter, but will put it in another thread when I get my thoughts together on it, rather than hijacking this one.
Beer Belly
Minister of Fire
I sat and watched my sibs fight over a stack of pennys.....really, a stack of freakin' pennys....less than a dollar.....and after my Dad passed (we were by his bedside), one sister announces as we're leaving the hospital, she's getting his car, and the other has his gas card and asks if anybody is low on fuel
I sat and watched my sibs fight over a stack of pennys.....really, a stack of freakin' pennys....less than a dollar.....and after my Dad passed (we were by his bedside), one sister announces as we're leaving the hospital, she's getting his car, and the other has his gas card and asks if anybody is low on fuel
Some people will never understand what truly matters in life . . . I suspect you already know.
All I plan on leavin' is bills, and my will specifies that they are to be split equally between my three ex-wives ........ My current wife don't git nuthin' ...... that'll show her ............................
mass_burner
Minister of Fire
you need to start planning this at least 5 years ahead of time to keep real estate off limits to nursing homes.
as for me i plan to sell everything, spend everything and die broke and shoeless on some beach somewhere.
Retired Guy
Minister of Fire
Retired Guy
Minister of Fire
Mods already are getting rich with the Hearth.com profit sharing.Right. The Mods.
Mods already are getting rich with the Hearth.com profit sharing.
Yep and the inheritance would drive our taxes through the roof. But we are willing to do it to prevent members having family problems.
Retired Guy
Minister of Fire
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