Reply to moral/ethical dilemma regarding trust fund spending

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[quote=Anonymous]
If your dad is alive....ASK HIM.  :)

He set it up, and he is your best counsel.

Frankly - if you are my daughter - I'd be annoyed that you'd ask nameless faceless strangers on the internet give you financial advice - AND be annoyed that you'd do that, instead of asking me.  Your dad already let you know of the money's existence - so ask him what he'd do.   It will help ease your mind.
[quote]
FWIW - my children will have mid 7 figure trusts as adults - but they know nothing of it now.  I want them to struggle a bit and live life.  I want them to go through the "struggles" of putting a roof over their own heads, food on the table, and educating their children.  It's NOT easy and IMO it shouldn't be.  It builds character - and it builds family unity and bonds and love.   Money can destroy all that in a heartbeat.      Unlike most posters here - I think the money is NOT just "to have an easier life".   As Warren Buffett theory says - it should be enough that they can do almost anything, but not enough so that they'll do nothing.    There is a small piece of your post that indicates that you're tapping the wallet in order to take the easy way.   I hope I am wrong.

There is a tremendous weight and responsibility with money IMO.   And I applaud you for at least having a questioning conscience about what to do.  To me - if it is as much money as you seem to infer - perhaps just use the income that the trust generates (not the corpus) and use it to pay for annual mortgage.  Don't invade the corpus...it will reduce the long term benefit.

But overall - ask your dad - he set it up, and he knows you 100 times better than any of us.   Good luck kiddo.  :)

Signed,

A similar Dad[/quote]

To the Dad,
(I'm the PP who received the 300K for the house).

Awesome advice, and I can tell you are a great Dad.  You remind me a lot of my dad.  He didn't tell me until a few years ago (I'm 38) that I would be inheriting significant amounts of money (several million) and I am so glad I didn't know until then.  At the same time, I am glad he told me when he did.  I needed time to get used to the idea, and I am still getting used to it.  I do hope you include your kids on your plans, at least to the extent you think they can handle it, and give them some time to digest it.  I know some kids couldn't handle it at all, or maybe now isn't the right time.  But I can tell you, as someone who had no clue this would eventually happen to me, I needed time to digest it because it totally rocked my world.  And I've also had some extremely rich (no pun intended) and heartfelt conversations with my parents since they've told me.  They also expect me to give a significant portion to charity, which I am really looking forward to doing.  In some ways, I wish I could quit my job now and just give away their money!  : )

Just thought you'd like to hear that perspective.  All the best to you and your kids.[/quote]

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