Have you ever thought about the transfer of your wealth at your death and who should get your “stuff”?
Assuming that your surviving spouse is taking care of, where do you want the bulk of your money to go? If you’re like most of my clients, they consider their adult children as the primary beneficiaries of their wealth once they’ve passed.
Let’s consider this…
Most individuals will die in their 80s and 90s. This will put their adult children in their 50s and 60s. I think that most children are self-sufficient by then. (There are certainly some who definitely need help for their own retirement or that have special needs). But a majority should be in good shape by then.
That being the case, what kind of impact could you make with your wealth if you made the leap that it didn’t all necessarily need to go to your adult children? I know that we love our kids, but is there something in life that we’re even more passionate about for which we could make an eternal difference after we leave? If so, shouldn’t we treat the transfer of our wealth as our last act of wise financial stewardship?
This doesn’t mean that we need to leave 100% to church for charity. It does mean that we should probably think about it more than we have.
