For those of you that KNOW you will be inheriting money...

[Anonymous]

Does that affect your financial planning now? We will be receiving around $2M when my ILs pass (which could be years and years away), so we know that we will have this money for retirement but we don't actually take that money into account when deciding how to save for retirement. We save a good amount (at 35 we have about $415K saved in retirement accounts) but we still have student loan debt and college planning to deal with. I sometimes wonder if we should stop dumping so much into retirement and focus more on student loans (very very low interest rates) and/or college savings.

[Anonymous]

Not really. I sort of figure that I'll have a good retirement, or a great retirement. I can get to good all on my own.

[Anonymous]

Well, of course. You never know for certain what will happen, but I would pay off those loans.

[Anonymous]

I would pay off the student loans and save for college over the 401(k). But keep adding what you can to it all -- you can't count on ILs money especially if they spend many years ill/in nursing homes. $2M can disappear faster than you'd think.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't affect our planning. It's only $300,000 and we already have $1.2 million saved for retirement.

[Anonymous]

I don't factor it in because there are too many unknowns. If my parents expired today it would be a lot. If they pass away 20 years from now after long illnesses and nursing home care than there may not be that much left. So I focus on planning for myself and my DH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would pay off the student loans and save for college over the 401(k). But keep adding what you can to it all -- you can't count on ILs money especially if they spend many years ill/in nursing homes. $2M can disappear faster than you'd think.

+1. My mom's assisted living bill was $9K a month, plus extra help, and miscellaneous expenses (toiletries, meds, clothing). She spent four years in assisted living and needed a LOT of help because of severe dementia.

[Anonymous]

lol no, what are you going to do, off them early before they use it up on assisted living? Don't plan your life around other peoples money. if it happens great but if it doesn't big deal.

[Anonymous]

I'm due to receive 3-4 estates when various relatives passed away (mother was from a large family but many of her siblings never had kids). We don't factor it in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does that affect your financial planning now? We will be receiving around $2M when my ILs pass (which could be years and years away), so we know that we will have this money for retirement but we don't actually take that money into account when deciding how to save for retirement. We save a good amount (at 35 we have about $415K saved in retirement accounts) but we still have student loan debt and college planning to deal with. I sometimes wonder if we should stop dumping so much into retirement and focus more on student loans (very very low interest rates) and/or college savings.

Makes things slightly easier to plan - but doesn't give you absolute freedom.

The biggest peace of mind might be that it would allow me to rest easier at night knowing that if I had to - I could "borrow" from my retirement account to pay for my children's education today, and that the $2 million will eventually be there when I need it (assuming I outlive my parents).

[Anonymous]

I dont know the exact amount, but ballpark we stand to inherit perhaps $8M. I dont factor it in at all honestly. For all I know the estate tax will be 90% by then.

[Anonymous]

No. I don't know how much it will be. I can estimate that it might be $500k, but it's still basically just a guess. A fair amount may be tied up in real estate (they own 2 houses). Could be only $200k. Could be a million. So hard to be sure - so we don't count on it in any way shape or form.

[Anonymous]

I dont know the exact amount, but ballpark we stand to inherit perhaps $8M. I dont factor it in at all honestly. For all I know the estate tax will be 90% by then.

This would not surprise me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I dont know the exact amount, but ballpark we stand to inherit perhaps $8M. I dont factor it in at all honestly. For all I know the estate tax will be 90% by then.

This would not surprise me.

Exactly why I'm not counting on it. We've started talking about doing some estate planning now and transferring some of the funds into a trust, but I feel a little strange asking mom and dad for "a million or two now".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I don't know how much it will be. I can estimate that it might be $500k, but it's still basically just a guess. A fair amount may be tied up in real estate (they own 2 houses). Could be only $200k. Could be a million. So hard to be sure - so we don't count on it in any way shape or form.

Same deal here. I lost my mom way too soon, so I would prefer my dad have a long life and spend his money happily. There's not so much that that more than $100k is a sure thing. And while I'm not discounting it, it's not the same as the millions being talked about. If it was, I think I would bite the awkward bullet and make sure there are trusts set up. I'm not even remotely greedy or grabby, but I think there is a decent chance of the estate tax dramatically increasing.