MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Should Roman Rockafella leave all his money to his kids?

Psykicpup

at 1st I liked the idea of gradual release (18,25,30) & mortgage paid etc but if he had had that priviledge, would he have worked as hard?

I would be tempted to go for a hardship fund put aside to match the current jobseekers benefits etc but only payable on similar grounds. Then an amount aside in a pension trust, payable on retirement as long as that is not before 50 but including a similar trust for thier own families if the child dies early but has family to support. I think the option to be able to go to university etc without fees but NOT full financial support would be good but only up to a certain age - 50yr old 'students' are not unheard of!
I would spend money wisely but freely in front of them IYSWIM so they get to learn the benefits money can bring, without being 'spoilt'.
And assuming I was still alive at that point I would give them a choice of 1 one in a lifetime experience once they are around 19-20ish (can be delayed if they wish)ie world travel or whatever.
This applies to both chaildren & wife!
I would also set aside a sum to match any charity giving £1 for £1 to the charity!
Any spare money at thier retirement ages should be set aside to provide the same for the grandchildren or if lack of 1-2 families locally.

learningtosave

I agree completely with spudz. give them enought to start off with, say just a deposit on a house and car, and then the rest in stages. it's what my granddaddy did (although nowhere near as much as this!!!) and i'm not just kicking back counting the days. I have to work hard to get by in the here and now till that money comes to me...it's a hard lesson but i appreciate the value of it in the end!

whitfreak

I agree that some trust setup would be the best. The effectiveness of the trust will depend on how they have been bought up. It will also depend on the trusties chosen presuming that there are descretionary components. I imagine that it will be a hard task to choose people who are going to outlive you but understand fully what you want.

Descretionary spending, potentially entails alot of problems. Any deserving job list will not be definative. Some say pay for their studies but for how many degrees or how many times are they allowed to drop out and start afresh. Try as you might but no document is going to cover all cases.

Importantly, the kids should have the basics of whats being left to them explained to them. Presuming they are old enough to understand it. I'm sure people have encountered enough stories of family feuds and aggro because people didnt inherit what they thought they would, and I'd imagine those problems get worse with the more money involved. Admittedly this risks the feud starting while your alive.....

Deco

I would instruct my lawyer to give my children a small 10Kpayment and tell them the rest has been left to charity.
After sufficent time has passed that they have experienced a relatively normal working life then an account with all the money will be distributed between them.

The wife I would give a big chunk to if I met her before I was rich.
If I met her after hitting it big and she happens to be alot younger than me shes not getting a penny!

Cerisa

He should leave them it in increments.

SOPH011010

I think the Dragon Peter Jones has the best idea. The children are entitled to his inheritance at the rate of which they earn (ie, for every bit of their salary they earn it will be matched out of inheritance). Additionally, if they do a job helpful to the community like police work or nursing the inheritance will be double what they earn.

Countertenor

Presumably, Mrs Rockefeller might have something to say if he left it all to his kids! That said, he should set up a trust so that they can't get access to it until they're, say, 21 or, even better, 30, except in certain pre-ordained situations, e.g. marriage, school fees, etc. He could give the trustees discretion to release money earlier. They (the kids) should either not be told about it, or encouraged to see it as a safety net in case something totally unexpected occurs. That way, with responsible upbringing, they will make their own way in life and not rely on Dad's hard earned dosh (hopefully)!

coxeey

Offer to match $ for $ earning and money from daddy. Could even do $2 or more for every one earned. Deal to halve each time caught in criminal activity.

Blind_Dylan

Yes I think Roman should give some of his money to his kids through a scheme where thay can earn payments by showing thier parents that they can work and make money in their own right. Roman should think about giving some of his money to worthy charities also, it is after all an obscene amount of money by many peoples standards. If I had that kind of money that is what I would do. They do say charity begins at home well maybe for the less well off but with that kind of money you need to help your fellow beings.

Best regards
Blind Dylan

Checkanow

Roman did not work hard for his wealth just for fun. He did it for his children too. The children should be given their share of the wealth at various stages of their lives. There should be targets that they have to meet in order to get their hands on the money.