Inheritance--where to put the money while deciding what to do with it?

[Anonymous]

I would put it into an account in your name only, with your children as beneficiaries. Use it for things your grandfather would have wanted you to have/do- travel, kid's education, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'd put it in a money market account if you have one, and open an individual brokerage account to invest it. Don't put it in your joint account.

[Anonymous]

I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)/quote]

But it wouldn't be his money if YOU came into an inheritance. When he gets an inheritance, he can decide what to do with it. Your inherited money is your money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)

I agree with this -- my grandfather gave me a low six-figure gift several years ago as part of his estate planning, and I didn't hesitate to put it in a joint account with my DW. Sure, if our marriage winds up falling apart one day, I might regret that, but I don't think that will be the only regret if it comes to that -- and since we're perfectly happy right now, it seemed weird to insist that it was only my money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)

I also think this is odd. My DH inherited low seven figures and we put it in a joint account. We have always discussed what to do with the money and come to an agreement together. I think if you have the type of relationship where you feel the need to keep the money separate, there are other issues going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)/quote]

But it wouldn't be his money if YOU came into an inheritance. When he gets an inheritance, he can decide what to do with it. Your inherited money is your money.

I'm the person with the low 7 figure inheritance. I can tell you if my DH treated it like this, I would have had a serious problem with it. Granted our amount was a lot higher. But these are major decisions that potentially affect where you live, lifestyle, children's education, retirement age, etc. And one person in the marriage gets to decide in a vacuum? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)

I also think this is odd. My DH inherited low seven figures and we put it in a joint account. We have always discussed what to do with the money and come to an agreement together. I think if you have the type of relationship where you feel the need to keep the money separate, there are other issues going on.

This. I agree. However, I think keeping it separate is generally good advice for your average person. One look at the relationship forum will show you that people have different abilities to pick up on (and deal with) problems in their marriages. I think there are many people who think their marriage is in a good place, but they're not really in a place to assess their own situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)

Because if you have kids and you drop dead tomorrow, that money is your DH's and if he remarries, that means he and his new spouse can spend it on whatever they want and your bio children could be left with nothing in terms of an inheritance from you.

I've always been told that inherited money should be kept separate for that reason (if there are children involved). Sure you can spend it on joint items but you keep it separate until you buy said item for the reason I outlined above.

DH and I both will inherit decent sums of money from our parents and I am absolutely all for us both keeping those amounts separate or, at the very least, only transferring some of the money into a joint account so that the rest is protected, again, for the reasons I outlined above.

[Anonymous]

we both inherited small amounts and used it for tuition, home improvements. DH got 1 first and just put it in joint so I did the same-his was 5x mine.

If your children are young and big tuition hasn't kicked in put it in designated accounts. If I inherited 1m and had a hefty mortgage on a joint property I'd pay that off as well as car loans etc.

I think some are dealing with far larger inheritances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)

I also think this is odd. My DH inherited low seven figures and we put it in a joint account. We have always discussed what to do with the money and come to an agreement together. I think if you have the type of relationship where you feel the need to keep the money separate, there are other issues going on.

I completely disagree. One never knows what will happen with a marriage, and as a parent, I will specifically request that my children keep the money we leave them in an account in their own name, as my parents did with me. I would hate to think that their spouse was able to go out and blow the money that we worked so hard to save for. If my own kid wants to blow it, so be it, but I would hope that they would spend the money on their children/family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am curious as to why everyone says to put it in a your-name-only account? I can see doing this for the short term, but for the long term it seems unusual for married couples who typically share accounts.

Btw, if we came upon an inheritance, my Dh would also want to invest in real estate (it's his profession)

I also think this is odd. My DH inherited low seven figures and we put it in a joint account. We have always discussed what to do with the money and come to an agreement together. I think if you have the type of relationship where you feel the need to keep the money separate, there are other issues going on.

I completely disagree. One never knows what will happen with a marriage, and as a parent, I will specifically request that my children keep the money we leave them in an account in their own name, as my parents did with me. I would hate to think that their spouse was able to go out and blow the money that we worked so hard to save for. If my own kid wants to blow it, so be it, but I would hope that they would spend the money on their children/family.

If you care that much about it, you should put it in a trust.

[Anonymous]

If I got a low 6-figure amount, I'd take $100k each and put it in a 529 for the kids (assuming there was nothing or not much in there already). I'd pay for a large-scale vacation - safari, Australia, etc. If there's anything left, I'd put it into my own IRA and designate the kids as beneficiaries. But if you really want to upgrade your house, go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I got a low 6-figure amount, I'd take $100k each and put it in a 529 for the kids (assuming there was nothing or not much in there already). I'd pay for a large-scale vacation - safari, Australia, etc. If there's anything left, I'd put it into my own IRA and designate the kids as beneficiaries. But if you really want to upgrade your house, go for it.

I would think this would completely blow a low six figures inheritance.

[Anonymous]

Exactly - that's how I'd allocate it. $200k to 529s, $25k vacation and remainder in an IRA for me. I can still add to my retirement, but with college covered, that's a load off my mind/budget.