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Leaving money to grown children, good or bad idea?

#1
leaving sums of over 6 or 7 figures to grown children, does it benefit them, or does it teach them some very bad life lessons?
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#2
Strikes me the answer will depend in large measure on just how "grown" the kids are.  SOME 22, 25 or 30 year-olds may not handleit well....but that's easy to take care of in estate planning documents.  My kids will likely both be over 50 --- hopefully over 60! --- before they plant us.  And at 50 or 60 I think life lessons about money were complete a decade or more ago.   How dangerous would it have been for YOU to receive an inheritance in YOUR 50s or 60s?
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#3
As a recipient of a six figure inheritance ( low ) in my late 60s it didn't really affect me much.  It simply gave me some "insurance " for when I retire.  I'm a responsible person, know the value of money and how hard it is to accumulate larger sums, so for me  it was OK.

It probably depends on what kind of people these "children" are .  If they were raised correctly no problem.  If spoiled all their lives, then all bets are off.  IMHO
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#4
It is probably better than leaving it to your dog.  Call a good estate atty.  You can easily control through trusts and other legal wording.  You do not even have to be consistent with each heir.  Both of our kids will inherit low 7 figures.  The money left to our son will be structured disbursements over time with the balance remaining invested to offset at least in part the annual distributions.  Otherwise, he will turn $2 million in to zero in a year or two. 
 
Our daughter will receive her full inheritance immediately.  She will turn $2 million in to $4 million in 7 or 10 years even with drawing a fair amount each year to improve the quality of life as she ages.
 
This has been done with full disclosure to all.  Our son did not like it at first, but finally admitted it was the best way to go.  He knows himself.
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#5
I agree disclosure is key.
Until one talks to children and understands where they are, one will never know.
An interim plan would be to see how they handle a $15,000 gift - see what that does to or for them.
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#6
We started gifting a few years ago.  There are some back side issues but what can do you that does not have them?  Atty suggested when we started to be sure to gift the same exact amounts to our 2 heirs and let them know.  It does not eliminate dealing with the gifts in the estate settlement but will impact them equally avoiding any friction between heirs.
 
Good experienced atty.  To quote him "heirs can and will accept just about anything about their inheritance except surprises".
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#7
I think you should think of it in terms of leaving streams of income for your kids, rather than just leaving a pot of cash. For example, while they're still alive, maybe see if they have any interesting business ideas or other things that just require a little capital upfront to generate a cash stream in the future. Buy in as a limited partner, and then when you expire, leave those shares to them. Or set up an investment trust with both you and them as overseers, and then when you die, they become sole overseers.
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