Inheritance when one child has kids, the other does not
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Anonymous
| Generally I would say keep it simple and fair 50/50 between your kids - maybe a token amount for each grandkid. I might reconsider slightly if your estate is very large and more than your children could easily spend in the rest of their lives or is something expected to be passed to the next generation (real estate etc.). |
Anonymous
| Education trust for grandchildren, then split 50/50. |
Anonymous
| Even split. Anything else (excluding a special needs adult) guarantees your kids relationship will suffer |
Anonymous
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I think it should be 50/50. Inheritance passes to your kids, you in turn pass down to your own kids.
My brother tried telling my mom for tax purposes to leave her inheritance to the grandkids equally. He has 3 kids and I have 1. So his family would get 75% and mine would get 25%. Umm no. Nice try. |
Anonymous
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I'll never understand these questions.
Do you love the child with kids more? What if the currently childless adult child has kids later? Or adopts later? If you're going to leave an inheritance to your kids, you do it equally. Guess who's going to most likely be the one to end up taking care of your estate after you die? It'll be the one without kids. |
Anonymous
No, it really doesn’t. I can see how it might in many cases. But not all. |
Anonymous
It’s not love! It’s just money. |
Anonymous
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There are more important consideration. Maybe the one without kids will need the money later when old as they don't have kids to look after them. Won't they leave the money to their nieces and nephews anyway?
Keep it simple-50/50. You want drama? Go act in a Mexican soap opera. |
Anonymous
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I have kids, my brother does not. I was completely fine with a 50/50 split. Parents had spent plenty of money on DS and put some money (not a ton) into an account for him throughout the years.
Honestly I think I would have been more uncomfortable if more was left to us because of DS. |
Anonymous
| DHs mother divided her estate in four (four children). One fourth was a special needs trust for one of the sons. She also made a life estate for the daughter who took over one of her houses during her lifetime and had three kids. Her three kids will inherit this house. The three brothers had no kids until I came along and married DH after the mother’s death and we have one child. I think it was fair the way the will was done. SIL totally disagrees. She was accustomed to getting full financial support from her mother and demanded her brothers continue finding private school, etc., even after my husband started his own family. She went into a rage when an estate accounting was done and there was an amount she used and would come from her share. She tried to garner pity as a divorcee and let everyone assume she would be destitute in her old age if the brothers didn’t support her. Her mother knew better. |
Anonymous
| I don’t have kids and my brother does. When my father dies everything he has will be split between us equally. He already told us. |
Anonymous
It just recognizes that the child with kids has more economic need. Seems pretty normal for the grandparent to want to ensure grandkids are cared for. I agree its tricky but thoughtful conversations about it before death should help. If it was me I’d probably leave an amount separately to grandkids, then even to kids. Or fully fund 529s then split the rest evenly. |
Anonymous
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Education trust for each kid if you can afford it, then even split.
I have 5 kids and would not want the bad feelings. |
Anonymous
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50/50 split, unless one sibling is doing the majority of elder care for years in which case they should be compensated (ideally pay themselves in the present, so that post death 50/50 kicks in)
I’m the only sibling with kids. That was my choice. I don’t deserve money for it. The tbh I’m hoping everything goes to a charity for simplicity’s sake. |
Anonymous
| I would just be upfront with everyone involved. Each grandchild also gets X and then it's split 50/50. |