If you knew you would inherit $6M, would you do things different?

[Anonymous]

OP, how long have you been on DCUM? You should know by now if you ask an inheritance question everyone will say you can't count it or your parents will somehow spend all of it on end of life care... even though that is actually impossible to spend that amount of money you are talking about on care. Not to mention, if your parents invested wisely it will continue to grow. Of course you will inherit this money if not more. I am in the same position. We don't save for the kids college or hold back on nice trips. We also don't stress about making sure we invest a certain amount for the future- we know we will be fine. And if the stock market goes down and $6 million is lost... well, we all have much bigger problems to deal with then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, how long have you been on DCUM? You should know by now if you ask an inheritance question everyone will say you can't count it or your parents will somehow spend all of it on end of life care... even though that is actually impossible to spend that amount of money you are talking about on care. Not to mention, if your parents invested wisely it will continue to grow. Of course you will inherit this money if not more. I am in the same position. We don't save for the kids college or hold back on nice trips. We also don't stress about making sure we invest a certain amount for the future- we know we will be fine. And if the stock market goes down and $6 million is lost... well, we all have much bigger problems to deal with then.

Did you miss the posts over the years where elderly parents remarried and now the new spouse has most of the loot?
Did you miss the posts about scammers preying on the elderly?

I wouldn't count my chickens, if I were OP.

[Anonymous]

The remarriage or new partner is a high possibility for some people. After being together for that many years, it's going to be hard for the surviving parent to get used to being alone and they're likely to see out a new companion. It's more likely a man will remarry (much more on offer due to longer lifespan for women) but either can happen.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think a lot of people on this thread are responding without knowing what it is like being from a family that has a lot of money. I am betting most here aren't getting near that amount of inheritance. I do come from a well off family and the emphasis has been for generations on preserving money and passing it on to the next. You will most likely be fine if you are from one of those families. It is the very core of who we are and the values we are raised with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, how long have you been on DCUM? You should know by now if you ask an inheritance question everyone will say you can't count it or your parents will somehow spend all of it on end of life care... even though that is actually impossible to spend that amount of money you are talking about on care. Not to mention, if your parents invested wisely it will continue to grow. Of course you will inherit this money if not more. I am in the same position. We don't save for the kids college or hold back on nice trips. We also don't stress about making sure we invest a certain amount for the future- we know we will be fine. And if the stock market goes down and $6 million is lost... well, we all have much bigger problems to deal with then.

Did you miss the posts over the years where elderly parents remarried and now the new spouse has most of the loot?
Did you miss the posts about scammers preying on the elderly?

I wouldn't count my chickens, if I were OP.

This.

Posts about losing the loot to new step mommy are almost as common as the weekly posts from a
SAHM who hasn’t worked in 15 years shocked and terrified that hubby is has decided that he is leaving.

The same moral lesson is at root of both sob stories.

[Anonymous]

I’m wrestling with this right now. The inheritance is larger and hopefully many years off in the future - but since I don’t have the money I still save 25% of our gross income. My dad has even commented saying he thought I’d sort of take my foot off the gas of savings/investing but I’m struggling to do so.

I guess to OP, I’d live as if you weren’t getting it and avoid putting yourself into a situation where you really need it.

[Anonymous]

I will likely inherit between 1-3 million, depending on various factors. I don't assume anything is guaranteed, but figure that whatever I do inherit (if/when) will likely all go towards my children and their families. It doesn't change anything I do now regarding spending/saving/planning, but it does give me some peace of mind that I will not ever be a burden on my children and will likely be able to leave them more of a legacy.

[Anonymous]

So interesting everyone is saying you can get scammed. My father got scammed out of $200K and if you would have told me that could ever happen, I would never have thought this was ever possible. He is very money oriented, fiscally conservative etc and was still scammed.

[Anonymous]

We paid $32 per hour, 24x7 for 10 years for caregivers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We paid $32 per hour, 24x7 for 10 years for caregivers.

This is on the high end of what most people pay and could still likely be covered using the investment returns off OPs inheritance. My mom’s net worth continued to increase while she was in memory care. Yes the stock market can go down but that is true if anything invested in the market.

[Anonymous]

What did they do to amass this wealth OP?

[Anonymous]

They have enough money that if there is some small gift that would make a big difference, I think it's okay to ask for it, especially if you are otherwise frugal.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I'd spend a bit more freely. I'd probably be getting that Lincoln I want instead of a Subaru without thinking about it, and I'd buy the biz class plane tickets for overnight flights without thinking about it. But I could probably do those things now if I weren't a person who is relatively anxious/conservative with money. I think 6M is kind of on the line for me regarding whether or not it would change my spending. I think 10M, then yes, it would. 6M, I'd probably still be conservative about spending. A million dollars just isn't what it used to be.

I think one's budget will dictate how one answers to this. If you are poor, this would change virtually everything, drastically. If you have 3M or so in the bank, then ... yeah?

[Anonymous]

If you KNEW you were going to inherit it, you would have already inherited it.

I have a trust with eight million. It's mine. I am the beneficiary and the trustee. Yes, I do things differently. I mostly do pro bono work - enough to keep up my skills so I can hopefully get a job again if someone Bernie Madoffs me or something.

You seem to be referring to money now owned by your parents that you hope to inherit. Anything could happen to that money. Like, your parents could spend it on elder care, which can cost hundreds of thousands a year. One could die and the other could get remarried and change the will or take lots of money out of the trust. No, you should not count on inheriting that.

Keep earning and saving your own money and if you inherit it, it will be a nice bonus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is any of that $6M in a 401K? If so, you have to pay income taxes on it with ten years so it may be worth far less to you. Ask me how I know.

One idea for 401k money is to have your children (if they are adults) the beneficiaries of your parents pre-tax money. They will likely be in a much lower tax bracket.