Changing expectations around inheritance

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arbitron

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BBC News: "I'd rather pay thousands on a holiday: Meet the pensioners spending the kids' inheritance"https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cje8y3w2zdpo​


Sarah and Geoff are part of a global personal finance phenomenon that has been dubbed "skiing", which stands for spending the kids' inheritance. It is challenging the notion that assets will get handed down to the next generation.
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Never count your chickens before they hatch. Until you have the promised goods in your possession it's risky business to assume anything when it comes to wills and inheritance. I don't know whether there really is a significant change in behaviour among parents but it's good that it's being discussed. People need to be aware that they could end up with nothing at all and plan accordingly.

I know several people who lived in very basic conditions in old age only to leave their relatives large gifts in their will. Not only is it sad on a personal level but it's surely bad for the economy to have all of this wealth hoarded away doing nothing?

On the other hand you have this person keeping the VAT flowing while improving her health by staying active:

Karen Green, 60, says she has been very upfront with her children. "I have been quite explicit to say there is unlikely to be a legacy because I'm anticipating spending it all."
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Originally from Berkshire, Karen has lived in Provence in the south of France for the past 11 years, and spends more than £10,000 a year on holidays.

"This year, I'm going to a yoga retreat. I did one in March in Morocco," she says. "Then in October into November I'm going to Vietnam and Laos to do a little bit of a tour."
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A friend and her two siblings were left nothing by their mother when she died- not a photo, nada. All went to the one child who never married and who remained at home. The problem is he’s not mentally fit to look after the house or himself properly. It’s a very valuable property and it’s falling into disrepair.
I think the mother just wanted to cause trouble between the siblings when she died. No one contested the will as they didn’t have the money to take a High Court case and couldn’t afford to lose.
Not the only case I know of personally.
 
Evie1962 said:
the mother just wanted to cause trouble
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Or perhaps didn't want to see one offspring homeless and / or reward them for taking care of her.

And in any event - it was her property to do whatever she wanted and frankly no one elses business.

To 'contest' a will requires grounds, you don't get to challenge a will just because you don't like what it says.
 
I knew the woman concerned. Not a nice individual. She absolutely was trying to set people against each other. She didn’t do the son any favours leaving it to him. He has learning difficulties and a personality disorder. It would have been better for all concerned if she had provided properly for him by leaving him a third of the value of the house or even half.
Anyway the siblings have let it go. It was hers to leave as she wished.
 
Sarah and Geoff are part of a global personal finance phenomenon that has been dubbed "skiing", which stands for spending the kids' inheritance. It is challenging the notion that assets will get handed down to the next generation.

One in seven UK parents of children of all ages (15%) now plan to prioritise enjoying their money in their retirement over leaving an inheritance, according to a March report by pension provider Standard Life.
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15% plan to spend their money in retirement which means that 85% are planning to leave something to their children. Of course, many have nothing to leave to their children or anyone else.

But the overall sense is the same. The majority of parents want their children to benefit from their wealth either by way of gifts when they are alive or through their will.

I am guessing that of the 15% who plan to enjoy their money, most intend to leave a property to their children.

If attitudes have changed, I would say that they have changed in favour of the children. Helping them to get on the housing ladder seems to be a higher priority now as most people need help to get on the property ladder. In the past, they could buy a house without their parents' help.
 
And there could be cultural differences between the UK and Ireland.

But the lack of CAT on gifts makes gifts more attractive than inheritances in the UK.
 
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