I helped a billionaire couple tell their kids they’d already received their inheritance. They didn’t take it well
Source: Fortune ·
Do your heirs know what’s in your will or where you want to be buried? Amid the greatest wealth transfer in history, it’s time for more transparency.
From the source
On October 20, Wells Fargo released a study of affluent families that every parent with an estate plan should read. Based on a survey of 800 Baby Boomers and 800 Gen X or Millennial children, the researchers found that 61% of adult children said inheritance had already caused problems in their families, from hurt feelings and arguments over fairness to estrangement and legal disputes. Only 29% of older parents said the same. Among the adult children, 49% believed inheritance conversations have the potential to trigger family conflict—which is one reason so many people avoid having them. My book, Unspeakable, came out the same day as the survey, and that data provided an illustration of the book’s core idea in the book: Many families are avoiding conversations because they’re afraid of discomfort, even if this avoidance can cause harm. Estate planning is just one of the topics I cover in Unspeakable, but as I’ve traveled to give talks and answer questions about the book, it’s one…