Inheritance, Get the Paperwork Done Now!

If you want to leave your children a decent amount of money in their inheritance, it is important that you fill out the paperwork now and that you fill it out properly.

1. When leaving your children an inheritance, it is suggested that you give them a ballpark range as to how much they will be receiving.

2. It is not required that you leave each child with an equal amount of money, it is only recommended in order to keep the family feuds to a minimum.

3. If you have a life insurance policy or retirement plan, you will want to name all of your children as a beneficiary and not just one child, leaving them to disburse the money evenly among his or hers siblings.

4. With an inheritance regarding items such as jewelry, pictures, and other valuable items, you will want to name specifically who gets what.

5. If you happen to leave one child with an inheritance larger than another, attach a little note explaining why you did so, this way they understand why it was done and do not resent you for doing so.

6. If you want your children to use their inheritance responsibly and not just take it and go shopping, you can place the money in a trust and create rules. For example, you can state that your children will receive all their inheritance at a specified age or that they will receive a certain amount at a specified age and another increment at another age, and so on.

7. You can also include in the trust that you want you want your children to only use the money for school or medical bills.

8. If you set certain stipulation on the inheritance, be sure that you are specific or include exceptions to the stipulations. For example, you can specify that once your child graduates from college, they can then receive their inheritance. This is a great stipulation, but what if your child decides to go to a trade school and not a university? There needs to be an exception written in or the stipulation should be written as, “Once your child graduates and receives a higher education.”

Need Help?

If you are not sure as to what legal document you currently have contact one of our professionals to help you with your planning needs. They will make sure you have all of your grounds covered and have the right legal documents that best suite your wants and needs.