Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm leaving it to my two nieces.

I've seen too many situations where charities do not support the donor's wishes.

This. It happens all the time.

Many will sue the other beneficiaries as a matter of course to see if they can get more. The one I worked for had an in house council whose job it was to do this.

Exactly! It may sound simple to "leave it to charity" but it's not like dropping a box at Goodwill. Red Cross is going to hold up your funds so Alma Mater doesn't get a dime. And then they're gonna spend your money on staff salaraies, overhead, etc so that about 2% of your donation goes into the hands of people who could use it.

It would take some effort on your part, but you could set up an educational trust fund that benefits your six relatives and their offspring. Major brokerage houses have trust administration depts that handle this. As PP's have mentioned, one of these people may be the one who turns off the lights at your final residence, handles your final wishes, etc. Make it easy on them.

If you want to protect your estate from this, give while you are alive by setting up a donor advised fund.

Anonymous wrote:I'm leaving it to my two nieces.

I've seen too many situations where charities do not support the donor's wishes.

This. It happens all the time.

Many will sue the other beneficiaries as a matter of course to see if they can get more. The one I worked for had an in house council whose job it was to do this.

I’m not in this situation but I can share with you that I have worked for nonprofits and be VERY choosy about any that you include in your estate plan. Don’t just rely on Guidestar or a passing charitable relationship. Volunteer and get to know the operations before you commit.

If I were in your shoes, I’d leave most to next of kin- who is going to make your medical decisions for you? That person and peers in the family as long as they don’t have drug/gambling/sex addictions The rest maybe charity.

The 2 million might go quickly if you and spouse need in home care.

We paid $30 per hour for caregivers (around the clock) for in home care for over 14 years for Mom (and Dad part of the time)

I'm leaving it to my two nieces.

I've seen too many situations where charities do not support the donor's wishes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why anyone here is insisting that OP should be leaving this money to family instead of to charities. Why do you care? Or do you all just happen to have wealthy childless aunts and uncles and think you might be the nieces and nephews who stand to miss out?

Blood is thicker than water.

Many of us are skeptical of quite a few charities. PPs made good observations about how charities are often wasteful with money, don't use it for what it's earmarked for, or ideologies change to become quite different.

Thirty years ago the right wing convinced Americans that social programs should be delivered via charity rather than the government. Now the right wing is convincing us that charities can't be trusted either. It's really just about concentrating wealth in the hands of the few.

I think you have issues. People who drag politics and their bigoted ideology into every thread tend to.

Agree that blood is thicker than water, meaning people typically derive greater satisfaction helping out family members rather than strangers via charities.

Doesn't mean OP should be obliged to leave estate to family but many charities are quasi frauds, especially the progressive ones, so she should be careful if goal is for her money to have a meaningful impact.

Also, when OP is old, it is always nice to have family helping out in final years rather than strangers. She may want to try to cultivate this kind of relationship.

Do what you want with your money. Don't tell the nieces and nephews.

If it were me, I would want the money to stay in the family. Charity begins at home. Not sure how much money we are talking about, but setting up multigenerational trust fund for college would be great. The PP was also spot on, if someone was planning to leave me money, inherently, I would be obliged to return the favor by helping them in the old age, especially so if they are family. There is no reason why you can't or shouldn't treat your nephews and nieces as your own kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While a lot can happen in the next 20+ years, there's the possibility that my partner and I could leave an estate worth a few million dollars. We don't have children, and while we are on good terms with our six nieces and nephews, we aren't particularly close. Plus, they all have secure careers and don't really "need" our money. So we are considering changing our wills and leaving most of our assets to charity rather than keeping it within the family. Wondering if anyone else is in this situation? If so, did you have a conversation with your siblings/nieces/nephews to let them know, or are you keeping that information private?

Good thought.. It's your money. However, none of the recipients of your charity will know who you are and neither care nor talk about you in a good way (or bad way). If not you, someone else would have met their need.

On the other hand, any money you give your siblings and or nieces will always be remembered, potentially for a long time.

To be more effective, why not 'adopt' some low SES kids and pay for their college or other such personal charity vs. giving money after your death to a non-profit where most of your money will go towards salary and bonus.

You don't know how much you can afford to give until you pay yourself first. You could die at 60 or 120.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why anyone here is insisting that OP should be leaving this money to family instead of to charities. Why do you care? Or do you all just happen to have wealthy childless aunts and uncles and think you might be the nieces and nephews who stand to miss out?

Blood is thicker than water.

Many of us are skeptical of quite a few charities. PPs made good observations about how charities are often wasteful with money, don't use it for what it's earmarked for, or ideologies change to become quite different.

Everything you said applies to family too

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody is owed money and certainly no one is owed MY money so no one should be expecting it which means I don't need to consult with anyone about what I do with it.

Coming back to say that I am actually leaving all my stuff to my nieces and nephews. If one steps up to take me on as a feeble old lady, I will change to leave them more. I am not super close to any of them but they are loving toward me when we are gathered as a family.

This is how Lex Luther got his money.

You likely will spend it on your elder care

You do not need to discuss the plans with anyone

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why anyone here is insisting that OP should be leaving this money to family instead of to charities. Why do you care? Or do you all just happen to have wealthy childless aunts and uncles and think you might be the nieces and nephews who stand to miss out?

Blood is thicker than water.

Many of us are skeptical of quite a few charities. PPs made good observations about how charities are often wasteful with money, don't use it for what it's earmarked for, or ideologies change to become quite different.

Thirty years ago the right wing convinced Americans that social programs should be delivered via charity rather than the government. Now the right wing is convincing us that charities can't be trusted either. It's really just about concentrating wealth in the hands of the few.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why anyone here is insisting that OP should be leaving this money to family instead of to charities. Why do you care? Or do you all just happen to have wealthy childless aunts and uncles and think you might be the nieces and nephews who stand to miss out?

Blood is thicker than water.

Many of us are skeptical of quite a few charities. PPs made good observations about how charities are often wasteful with money, don't use it for what it's earmarked for, or ideologies change to become quite different.

But so what? People can do whatever they want with their money. Even if they wanted to leave their estate to charity instead of giving it to their own kids, I don't see why any of the rest of us should object. They were asking for advice in how to do it, but meanwhile everyone here is outraged at the idea that they're not keeping their money in the family — a family none of us are even part of...

We have adult kids so it’s a very different situation but we have put aside money for them in a trust and what’s left over will go into a donor advised fund that our children will manage. So they will get money directly plus be able to be very generous in the future to causes that are important to them. We have many nieces and nephews and we have no plans to leave anything to them.