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had a conversation with a friend recently, who is in the same position as me.
he retired early on a small pension, with plans to sell his house to downsize and release some equity.
he only has one child, who when he told her what was happening, went ballistic with him.
all kinds of nasty stuff came out, with the main issue being that there would be nothing left for her once he has passed.
his daughter is 27, and only moved out of his house a few month ago, to live with a boyfriend. he has looked after her pretty much by himself for 27 years. he divorced his wife when the daughter was 4 and she stayed with him.
my reasoning was, she is still gonna get his new property or wherever he is living once the time comes, so she shouldbemore than happy.
i have 2 kids, aged 27 and 34, the youngest lives with us, with our grandson, and my eldest is in the process of moving into a bigger house nearer us. But both my kids, when i mentioned we were planning to do this, once the daughter and grandson have a place, both my kids were very happy and accepting of the situation. both said we should spend what we have worked/saved rather than leaving it all for them.
made me quite proud and tearful that they had turned out with this thoughtful way of thinking, rather than just thinking about what they were gonna get when the time comes.
my pal has told his daughter, she may end up with nothing if she doesnt change. good on him i say.
My kids would have the same attitude as yours Ton. And I had the same attitude with my parents.
I'm/we're just not that money orientated. I'd rather have seen my parents happy and enjoying themselves than thinking they had to limit their lives to leave me anything. And my kids are the same.
Obviously being left something is nice, and helpful, but if it had all gone on care costs for them I'd be happy knowing they were being looked after.
I told my parents to spend as much as possible on holidays whilst they still can, but still advised they get proper advise regarding the rules. As it has changed a lot recently
I keep telling our three that we're spending their inheritance now while we can enjoy it.... sod 'em!*
* not really, there should be some left 😉
I'm at the younger end of those two relationships. Late 30's with both parents and in-laws heading towards 70. Not once has it crossed our minds about expecting any sort of inheritance. And to be honest I'm still hoping it's quite a few years away yet. Yeah it'll be nice to get some (and it'll probably mostly bypass us and help the grandchildren when they are at an age that needs a step up), but not really sure it offsets the inevitable pain of losing your parents.
The response of your friend's daughter is either wholly ungrateful with no consideration for her dad or she's in a financially desperate situation and is planning to rely on all the inheritance money she can get to bail her out.
Situations like that can bring people's true nature to the surface.
In your friends case I'd be devastated to learn my child thought like that, and it's not necessarily due to their upbringing 🙁
OP tell your friend to take up SKIing (Spending the Kids Inheritance)
In your friends case I'd be devastated to learn my child thought like that
100% agreed – it isn't like she isn't going to get anything (well, it seems she might if she doesn't rethink her attitude). My in-laws have just downsized and it's great that they are now financially secure and able to spend a bit on holidays (although my father-in-law is getting a bit past being able to cope with too much travelling) and also being able to treat their grandchildren (I am not entirely sure they are doing this bit 100% by the book so there may be some tax to pay when the inevitable happens).
I helped my parents sort out equity release on their house (they absolutely did not want to sell so equity release worked for them). They are currently in Gran Canaria on their annual 6 weeks winter sun break, happily spending their money, and I think it is bloody ace.
he only has one child, who when he told her what was happening, went ballistic with him.
He should crack on and spend every last penny to make sure that entitled brat doesn't see any of it.
Our only daughter knows she's getting 100% of everything - that may be 100% of sweet FA though! 😀
The daughter sounds like someone I know. Needs to be told where to go. It's give the money to charity to further upset her
People have very funny ideas about what they are entitled to. In simple terms children are not due anything. Parents can choose to do whatever they want.
The very worst of people often stays hidden until inheritance is discussed.
Take a fictional example of a parent and child in London. The parent bought a house for twenty grand or whatever it was pre-2000's and it's now worth £800k.
The parent did nothing to deserve that bounty but nonetheless wants to release equity and go live it up on the profits. The problem is it leaves the child in a situation where they will realistically never be able to buy a house anywhere near where they grew up, perhaps condemning them to a life on the breadline or having to move far away from their friends and family. But at least the parent gets to have a blast eh?
Is there no sympathy for the child in that situation at all?
Ignoring her down right entitled attitude, with cost of caring for the elderly nowadays, does she really think there going to be any inheritance left? I pity the boyfriend..
Is there no sympathy for the child in that situation at all?
My kids will be very lucky to get any inheritance from me what savings I have will quickly be swallowed up by any care costs I incur. There will be no retirement to swan around in a motorhome etc. I'll have to work for as long as possible after retirement age. I do have some sympathy for the daughter or people of her generation . We have left them paying for our pensions when it is very unlikely they will get a similar pension in their old age. Meantime the cost of housing is exorbitant too. I can see why they're unhappy
Most of us won't see any money from inheritance until we are in our 50s, 60s or even older. If you are relying on that for your house deposit, you're leaving it a bit late.
The parent bought a house for twenty grand or whatever it was pre-2000's and it's now worth £800k.
Erm, 20k in London? More like 1961, not 2001
Regardless of housing markets, cost of living etc. etc., why does the child think that they are entitled to the parents' money/estate? They didn't earn it, they didn't do whatever the parents did to acquire the wealth etc.
Some people have strange views on what is theirs by right. My parents can do whatever they want with their cash, it's not mine, I didn't work for it - they did. It's none of my business what they do with it.
I typed a long reply but got an error.
Basically I agree with roli case.
The older generation needs to carefully consider the lucky breaks they got, and actually accordingly to not be a selfish git.
This is what I intend to do for.my kids. I'll work longer than I need to so I can hand more cash to them because they are growing up in tougher times
This does not excuse the daughter's entitled behaviour
I typed a long reply but got an error.
Basically I agree with roli case.
The older generation needs to carefully consider the lucky breaks they got, and actually accordingly to not be a selfish git.
This is what I intend to do for.my kids. I'll work longer than I need to so I can hand more cash to them because they are growing up in tougher times
This does not excuse the daughter's entitled behaviour
Ditto - also got an error msg & was discussing doing exactly the same just the other night, using some of my pension pot to gift to one of my kids will make a huge difference to their life now, no need to wait 20 or 30yrs, but will mean I work till I'm 70...
You are choosing to do this as you are a nice person and want to help your kids.
The bit which troubles me is when people expect it like it's a given (I know we all die but people have differing views on this). I'm talking people of all ages here, not just twenty-somethings. My friend in her late 40s is really annoyed with her sister as their parents have helped her more over the years and she is demanding that the will is updated now to reflect this.... 🤦♂️. Her parents are only in their early-70s so should be around for a long while yet.
I agree with roli_case.
House price inflation has been a way for older generations to take money from younger ones.
House prices need to fall. That’s going to leave a lot of people up shit creek.
I'm 63. My parents are 90. I haven't got mine yet. My parents and I had a discussion about money when they retired. I said aim to spend it all by your mid 80s and they succeeded apart from the house.
I get 1/4. My sister and my two nephews get 1/4 each.
I have no kids. My nephews get 1/3 of mine. The rest widely spread among extended family and friends.
Inheritance keeps wealth in the hands of the wealthy. I'd like to see it taxed much more heavily
When I my parents and my sister die my nephews get 3 valuable houses.
Unless we're all 70+ we aren't the golden generation!
I know for certain we'll need all of our assets in retirement (another 11 years away) just to survive*. We haven't got tens of thousands to fund our daughters life. We help out where we can though, but she's now 22 and working and living away self-sufficiently.
And don't judge all parts of the country by SW standards - around my way (mid-Derbyshire) you can buy a perfectly decent terraced house for £150k ish.
(*not go on x3 cruises a year - just basic living).
My friend in her late 40s is really annoyed with her sister as their parents have helped her more over the years and she is demanding that the will is updated now to reflect this....
Apart from the demanding element I can see your friends point. Families often have one sibling who leaches off their parents while others work hard and stand in their own two feet. That leaching can amount to a lot of money over the years.
all kinds of nasty stuff came out, with the main issue being that there would be nothing left for her once he has passed.
Just wait until she finds out about care home fees, and how much will be left of any property after that.
She's going to go crazy when HMRC take their cut
Money & families are what keeps lawyers afloat - or at least that's what I've learnt from dealing with a friend's estate & his estranged family.
I'm probably going to get flamed for this but, I remember the late 70's and early 80's vividly ( and I was only 10 in 1975 ) because my mother was really worried and couldn't hide the pressure she was under. She was recently divorced and receiving very little support from my father. Times were hard, mortgage rates were over 17%, businesses were collapsing, high unemployment and 3 day weeks, strikes, petrol rationing, etc. The 2000's were also a challenging decade. My mother is in a good place now and I don't begrudge her lifestyle because she really struggled at times. It's an interesting debate, but I think we forget how much suffering that generation had to endure yet they are often targeted as the 'lucky ones'. Also before the internet came along there were so few additional costs so it was perhaps easier to live a more frugal life when times were tough or your needed to save for a deposit. Now we are surrounded by so many additional costs which are ingrained into our lifestyles which just didn't even exist - Netflix, mobile phones, Spotify, the take away culture, etc. Hope she spends the lot!
My parents do their best to not spend their pot of money despite me telling them to spend it. They know it'll make a huge difference to me but I've told them I fully intend to spend it and I won't be paying off my mortgage. Everything will be split 50/50 between myself and my brother despite the fact that he just bought an apartment for 2mil and has also just bought two porsches. However, my parents know I'm very grateful for anything they do leave me and I wouldn't dare to have such a poor attitude about it. I'd rather they travelled or bought a new TV with it.
he only has one child, who when he told her what was happening, went ballistic with him.
all kinds of nasty stuff came out, with the main issue being that there would be nothing left for her once he has passed.
For many people though, inheritance is literally the only way to any sort of decent sum of money. Maybe she's made financial decisions with that in mind? That's not to say she's right or wrong or that her attitude is OK. But large sums of money (or worse, the potential for large sums of money) make people do strange things.
My Dad and my aunt had a right falling out over my Grandad's estate. My Dad ended up doing most of the work around tidying the place up, selling it and so on and he took his own sweet time over it; meanwhile my aunt was just wanting the whole thing done ASAP and her share of the cash. That sounds horrendous written down but she was disabled and certainly in no fit state to be shifting furniture, redecorating prior to sale etc and she had care costs to meet because disability benefit didn't come close to covering it.
And just to add, neither my sister nor I were left anything at all - which was entirely my Grandad's right.
My former boss - his MiL died after a very long period of illness, frailty, care homes etc and the care costs took out half the total value of the estate.
I'm also with roli on this one.
I fully intend to give my kids a chunk of cash towards a house deposit asap, and will inheritance plan so they hopefully get a chunk more. Anyone who is in a similar position and doesn't seems like a bit of a &£# to me.
Lots of us old people are in a far better situation than the next generation, and to kid ourselves that is purely down to our awesomeness and work ethic is just deluded.
PS1 I emphasis the " in a similar position" part of my post.
PS2 I fully support any government efforts to restrict the amount I can leave to my kids tax free.
Your money to do what you wish with. Article in The Times a few days ago describe how a 26-year-old now "hates" her late grandad because he left her £120,000 and her brother £200,000.
Basically, you can kind of see why he did it. I neither expect nor need anything from my parents.
Balance...
I'm fully aware of how much more difficult my daughter has/will have things compared to me, particularly as regards housing costs (whether buying or renting). We support her a little financially and I'm happy to offer more, whether that's up front or in some investment, when we can. However, we've also worked bloody hard to get to the point we're at and we have every intention of making sure we're able to enjoy the years remaining to us.
FWIW, she has never once approached us with an unreasonable request, or attempted to make us feel guilty about our spending. We were thinking of moving house and downsizing (potentially releasing some cash for her) but she'd rather we didn't sell her "home".
Poor attitude on her part. But on a similar point, we chose to have one child and we have also worked hard to make sure she will have a house mortgage free when she gets to that age. Rightly or wrongly I feel we’ve been lucky where she won’t be in anything approaching the same way. I’m 52 now…
It's kind of interesting... in the UK you have free will over all your assets, so you can leave everything to a donkey sanctuary if you wish...
In Spain it's a bit different, they have a thing called 'forced sucession'.
Essentially, very simply putting it, that means that two thirds of any estate automatically goes to next of kin, split equally and cascades down though family, by blood and/or marriage accordingly.
So you can only really have free will over one third of your estate.
I personally think it's a bit archaic, as it takes away freedom of choice, to a large extent, ~66%.
Back in the UK, it's very important you have a will to prevent legal problems down the road, a couple of hundred quid on a well written will is a very sound 'investment' for your beneficiaries, as it will void any legal challenges very easily.
For example in a very simple case, you may have 2 offspring... offspring 'A' might be a bit of a twunt, and also quite well off, so you may choose to leave 70% of the estate to offspring 'B', and that's that, it's basically incontestable.
My late Nan was really shrewd, bless her. She left her house and posessions 100% to me, and she seperated the rest of the estate (basicaly bank accounts in cash) between me and my niece (she getting 70%, Me 20%, and the remaining 10% to some family friends).
Just to clarify, my Niece (from my previously dead brother) and I are (were) her closest blood relatives, so it was really easy the way the will was written.
My mother (and stepdad) is (are) really very well off and from time to time she informs me of various will changes, investments they are leaving for one or another of the children etc etc.
I point out to her that she's got 20 years to go until she's as old as her mum when she died, and that puts me comfortably into my 70s... so there's a fair chance she'll outlive me!
There was an extra pot of money from life insurance when my father died when I was 23, £30k, and my mum informed that that money was saved in the "pot" for me and my brother when she married Colin (stepdad). I didn't say anything to her, but £15k would have been very useful at the time - house deposit, for a start - and I knew it'd just be swallowed by inflation if left until death. Sure enough, there's so much money now that a few years ago I was informed that money was just absorbed into the "pot" now.
I honestly could not care less; we've paid off the mortgage now and have "enough" money and savings not to worry within a simple life; but my mother is incredibly tight and will not spend an extra penny on enjoying life (for example, they go on holidays as helpers for blind people - not to help, really, but because they're subsidised!)... I really do wish she would spend my inheritance (that I may never see) on just splashing out a bit and bloody enjoying herself for once!
Money in the bank makes her happy and feel secure though, so that's that and care home bills and inheritance tax (very tight, but never looks at tax planning!) will do for most of it anyway.
I can't imagine being like the lass in the OP... does she want dad to top himself to speed things up a bit, too?!
First of all Ton I’m glad you and your family are together on this. No sympathy with the friends kid. She needs to realise that the money isn’t hers, it might go on care costs, it might be 30 years until she sees it. I’m 58 apparently i have a 25% chance of living until I’m 93
Take a fictional example of a parent and child in London. The parent bought a house for twenty grand or whatever it was pre-2000's and it's now worth £800k.
The parent did nothing to deserve that bounty but nonetheless wants to release equity and go live it up on the profits. The problem is it leaves the child in a situation where they will realistically never be able to buy a house anywhere near where they grew up, perhaps condemning them to a life on the breadline or having to move far away from their friends and family. But at least the parent gets to have a blast eh?
Is there no sympathy for the child in that situation at all?
The problem is that inheritance might not help at all. It’s the same as the above. I’m 58 both parents in great health. In your scenario I’m going to live near where i grew up as i retire, what are they doing for the other 40 years? Plus it’s entirely possible for a couple to spend all of that money on care costs.
So should you free up £400,000 by down sizing and want to help your kids then the thing to do is hand over some cash. That way they know what they are getting and when they are getting it. But that’s entirely your choice
Our kids will share whatever is left when we die, which may be nothing after what I hope will be a long retirement and care costs.
Her parents are only in their early-70s so should be around for a long while yet.
Crikey - I lost my dad at 69 and mum at 70 (15 and 12 yrs ago). Early 70s is young, but not for everyone 🙁
(from my previously dead brother)
has he been resurrected?
Erm, 20k in London? More like 1961, not 2001
Real life case. 1997 house in Homerton 70k. Sold a few years ago for ~900k.
(from my previously dead brother)
has he been resurrected?
You know what I mean, smart arse 🙄
I mean't to say pre-deceaced, in case it needed spelling out for you.
Honestly...
My mum is multi-millionaire as a result of the company she started. She's semi-retired now, currently half-way round the world on one of the many cruises she now takes in the name of "spending the kids' inheritance". I was offered an 'in' to the company on day 1 and I declined, my sister bought in. My mum has said that when she's gone the company stays within the shareholders, at which point my sister will be 51%, so when she's gone I get nothing. I'm cool with that even though if it was a traditional inheritance split I'd be in line for a 7, maybe 8 figure sum. It would be beyond amazing to inherit that amount but I didn't put anything into the business and it's a going concern, so all credit to those who are and will continue to be involved.
OP's mate's daughter sounds delightful.
My parents downsized in their sixties, then did equity release. When my dad died 15years ago my mum had care home costs in the last years of here life (she died 6 years ago). All the money was spent. They had a great retirement with loads of holidays and left a couple of thousands to my son/neice/nephew. I was absolutely in support of their choices.
id expect this to be normal for lots of people, with people living longer and care home costs. To the OP friend’s daughter - she may not get a penny. There is no rights or certainty to inheritances.
House price inflation has been a way for older generations to take money from younger ones.
And also from poor to rich
Inheritance increases inequality and is fairly damaging to society.
It keeps the poor poor
The older generation got lucky breaks and the younger generation are screwed, but the solution isn’t for a small proportion of the latter to get huge unearned windfalls while a large proportion get sweet FA and remain screwed.
Its not even remain screwed. Its get more screwed
The older generation got lucky breaks and the younger generation are screwed, but the solution isn’t for a small proportion of the latter to get huge unearned windfalls while a large proportion get sweet FA and remain screwed.
I agree, but inheritance tax remains unpopular so it’s unlikely to change.
well, shes only 27, pressumably your mate is in his 60s/early 70s.
assuming hes in good health, shes got a couple of years to become a nicer a person.
Inheritance keeps wealth in the hands of the wealthy. I'd like to see it taxed much more heavily
Why are you leaving more money to your nephews then? Sound like they will do OK anyway when your parents no longer with you.
Leave that 1/3rd to charity.
Regardless of housing markets, cost of living etc. etc., why does the child think that they are entitled to the parents' money/estate? They didn't earn it, they didn't do whatever the parents did to acquire the wealth etc.
But that's the main reason there is so much wealth contained in the older generation. My parents bought their house in the mid 80's for £40k or so. Parents are divorced now but the house is long paid off and my Mum has a house worth £1m at current rates.
However, she's asset rich and cash poor (OK, not "poor" but not exactly rolling in cash).
She's not "earned" that asset, it's just luck, timing, etc and many people will never have that same opportunity.
Potentially the father chose to exchange having a good pension for providing for the daughter during her formative years and providing a larger, warm and safe home along with providing the daughter with other tangible benefits via spending/offsetting a pension.
The family home is no longer needed and so the father can convert the house into money to fund his retirement that the pension may otherwise have.
This has allowed them to both benefit from the fathers "wealth" at appropriate times. The daughter may still inherit a reasonable sum however in either case there are still future risks of care costs depleting the estate and consideration to the inheritance tax thresholds.
The daughter being upset that her father is hoping to make his retirement easier speaks volumes. One might imagine that the daughter and any future grandchildren may benefit from a father/grandfather who has the means not to be a liability and who has the opportunity to provide ongoing positive interaction in their lives
The older generation got lucky breaks and the younger generation are screwed, but the solution isn’t for a small proportion of the latter to get huge unearned windfalls while a large proportion get sweet FA and remain screwed.
I agree, but inheritance tax remains unpopular so it’s unlikely to change.
Only because our media is owned by people who don't want to pay it and our general population is too stupid to realise they won't pay it.
Timely article regarding stereotypes of older folk criticising "depictions of baby boomers - those born between 1946 and 1964 and now in their 60s and 70s - as either frail or enjoying a life of luxury at the expense of their children and grandchildren."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg1e75ddygo
The report they refer to
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/46686/documents/239426/default/
My parents were useless with money, so those of you with the option to downsize and spend the extra crack on I say.
I will finally own my own house outright in a few (5ish) years, but have no kids, which is weird, have a niece&nephew though.
My parents are busy enjoying themselves. The in-laws didn't get the chance with MILs poor health and then needing the funds in the house value to pay for nursing home care for three years.
I'm not expecting any inheritance nor am I leaving a big pot for anyone (my kids). They can have the house if neither of us end up needing to pay for care homes.
My sister lives very well off her husband's inheritance as his dad and mum died relatively young. Cash and a four bed house.
Reading some of the replies, you'd think the vast majority of people in their 60s, 70s and older live in million pound houses when the reality is that most are in property worth less than £300k (The average UK house prive being £270k)
If either of my daughters had reacted as the OPs friends did I'd be mortified that in the previous 27 years, we'd not had meaningful conversations about money, inheritance etc. We made the conscious decision to give our daughters a chunk of cash when they were in their early to mid 20s figuring that we would have far rather had a smaller amount in our 20s than a 'proper' inheritance in our 50s or 60s. There were no strings attached but we knew they both wanted to buy their own homes...which they did. My parents are both gone, we got a small inheritance as most of the house money and modest savings went on care home fees which we do not begrudge at all as mum had a fulfilling last few years rather than staring at her own four walls while we waiting for a bit more cash...no thanks !
Reading some of the replies on here reminds me of the quote "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times".
My kids will get help as and when I can but it won't be a given. If I had the conversation like the OP, I'd be updating my will to leave my money to the guide dogs trust.
My mums burning through it at a rate of knots, and good on her! My stepdad died just a few years into (thankfully, early!) retirement. She's spending it on good times, and can't complain about that. She's taking the whole family on holiday next year because that's what she wants to do.
She is still in the house we grew up in but we're down there a fair bit and use the rooms, although they do refer to their bit of the street as widows row, as there's a load of old single boomers in 4 bed semis.
Me and my brother are over 40 now, decent jobs and all that so just hoping that mum hangs about as long as possible in good health! My bro and I are already set up with LPOA just in case things go south with her faculties, but no signs of that so far and we're all pretty well appraised of eachothers situations. Communication is king in these things.
Is it now the case that parents are leaving inheritance to their grandchildren and not their own children? This was never the case before. But I'm sure most receiving parties would share any gains with their relatives anyway.
A couple of my friends have ended up with nothing as care home costs are so high. It's best not to expect anything then it won't be a shock.
Timely article regarding stereotypes of older folk criticising "depictions of baby boomers - those born between 1946 and 1964 and now in their 60s and 70s - as either frail or enjoying a life of luxury at the expense of their children and grandchildren."
The report they refer to
Imagine the outrage on social media if a labour government released a report criticising older people for stereotyping younger people, as they often do with regards to spending money on avocado on toast, "fancy iPhones", foreign holidays and the like.
Obviously we should try and avoid stereotyping but it's inevitable that we're going to make sweeping statements when we're discussing issues affecting whole generations.
It should go without saying that a factual statement regarding the advantages experienced by a particular generation shouldn't be interpreted as personal criticism of any individual within that generation.
Generational inequality is a real issue. Not sure I'm too keen on the idea of being pressured into not talking about it incase we upset the old folk.
Is it now the case that parents are leaving inheritance to their grandchildren and not their own children?
I think that is increasingly common - partly because if you live till you are 80 your children are probably 50, and a typical 50 yr old is not going to get a transformative change, but their 20 something kids might.
mmm... whilst some would, plenty would have a "this MY inheretance" attitude and I'll pass it on when I am ready; but the distribution may not be at the level granny/grandad would do, eg.This was never the case before. But I'm sure most receiving parties would share any gains with their relatives anyway.
I understand my in-laws have changed their will so that rather than both daughters getting 50/50; they get 50/50 of the house and then then the daughters and grand children get 50/50 on everything else. As there are currently two daughters and two grand kids that means each gets 1/4 of everything except the house. Fair to say that when she told SIL who has no kids she was not too impressed - she "feels she is being punished for not having kids"! She's far from the poverty line - and my best guess is will be at least 55 before she is likely to see a penny of it!
Reading some of the replies on here reminds me of the quote "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times".
That's interesting, I'd probably have to go with something like:
Silent generation: strong men who created the good times for the boomers
Boomers: weak men who created the hard times for the millennials
Millennials: strong men creating good times for Gen A
Gen X and Gen Z - inbetweeners
If I had the conversation like the OP, I'd be updating my will to leave my money to the guide dogs trust.
Which kinda confirms what you wrote just beforehand....
weak men create hard times".
Timely article regarding stereotypes of older folk criticising "depictions of baby boomers - those born between 1946 and 1964 and now in their 60s and 70s - as either frail or enjoying a life of luxury at the expense of their children and grandchildren."
The report they refer to
Imagine the outrage on social media if a labour government released a report criticising older people for stereotyping younger people, as they often do
Dey do dough, don't dey do? This is one of the culture wars that exist in this country.
About 15 years ago my Dad sent me this book - out of the blue (no pun intended). Not sure if this was his idea of a joke.
Pinch - David Willetts -- Atlantic - 9781848872325 - Allen & Unwin - Australia (allenandunwin.com)
"How the baby boomers took their children's future - and why they should give it back."
It's actually pretty good.
Just to add that the UK already has one of the highest rates of inheritance tax in the world, about fourth or fifth if I remember right. The vast majority of countries have none at all
.
I agree with whoever it was up there ^ who said that a small amount young can make a much bigger difference than a large amount later. I'm lucky enough that my parents could afford to give me £10k as a house deposit in my early thirties, that has made a massive difference, a far greater impact on my life than, say £100k at 60 would do.
I'm not expecting much later, a) they are fairly well off but there's a chance it will all go on nursing homes, and b) my mother is only 22 years older than me so I could be well into my seventies before I get anything even if there is any left. I'm not expecting it, anything which does come my way is just a bonus, I don't see myself as entitled to it at all, I didn't do anything to earn it, they did so it's only fair that they enjoy whatever spending it brings them.
Oh and c) world war three appears to be coming anyway, so any talk of what will happen in thirty years time is entirely moot.
Just to add that the UK already has one of the highest rates of inheritance tax in the world, about fourth or fifth if I remember right. The vast majority of countries have none at all
It’s quite difficult to compare. Some countries (or even local regions / states) have gift taxes, or treat inheritance in with other income. Many treat real estate differently, many have special rules if the beneficiary is a close family member. 40% does seem high, although it is the same as the rate in the US. But both here and across the pond only applies to the largest estates. Personally I’d rather see it apply to more at a much reduced threshold, and the tax rate depend on who gets it. That could provide a significant incentive to distribute it to those who will benefit (personally and as a country).
The US has federal inheritance tax but (and state by state variation) it’s around $10m per person and if you have that sort of money you can surely afford a good accountant to get around it. Not the best example.
Most European countries have similar sorts of inheritance tax to the UK with a few notable exceptions.
I would rather my mum and dad be around to spend every penny of my 'inheritance' than the alternative. I wouldn't trade a day with them for all the money in the world.