Is this normal?

Lastonestanding

stevio said:

Hello, we’ve just had a bereavement in the family. The deceased wants to give their grandchildren £10,000 each. Being as there is 4 of them
that’s a total of £40,000. (The estate is £90,000) the deceased has one child so they will receive £50,000.

The wording of the will should be followed, but it sounds like the deceased left a set amount to the grandchildren, expecting their to be a larger amount of the estate.
The wording of wills is very difficult, I would like to leave £10k the Dogs Trust etc, but only if I leave a large estate.

msb1234

stevio said:

Thanks guys. The deceased wishes will be carried out. I should have made clear that if the estate is 90k then the daughter gets 50k and 40k goes to the grandchildren. ignore the 40/50 split.

I was just wondering is this normal or do most still leave the bulk to their children?

My dad’s will left an amount of money to each of his grandchildren and the subsidiary to his children - he had 5 grandchildren when he wrote his will, 10 when he died. As there was no subsidiary once the grandchildren received their inheritance, us children received nothing. 
Personally I was pleased he'd thought of his grandchildren in his will!

GaleSF63

A lot of grandparents will now be seeing their grandchildren struggling or going to struggle to get on the housing ladder on which their children are already established.

stevio

I can obviously understand the plight young people are in today regarding property and unfortunately with everything ramping up it will only get worse. However, don't forget that the child of the deceased also lives in this world and has stopped earning as they are now 3 years into their retirement. We've always been under the impression that the bulk of the estate is handed down to the next of kin to help them in their retirement.

It would be a pity if we have to take equity out of our house. It's valued at around £250,000 and for us to take £100,000 out it will cost £150,000 which goes to the lender. So, we wouldn't be able to leave anything then.

 

74jax

stevio said:

I can obviously understand the plight young people are in today regarding property and unfortunately with everything ramping up it will only get worse. However, don't forget that the child of the deceased also lives in this world and has stopped earning as they are now 3 years into their retirement.

You can still work on retirement if needed. 

We've always been under the impression that the bulk of the estate is handed down to the next of kin to help them in their retirement.

To be honest I've never heard, so it may be a local thing to you maybe? I'm of the generation (in late 40s) where I wanted my parents to spend spend spend and that's in turn what I will be doing, DD knows not to rely on me as I'll hopefully be jetting round the world. 

It would be a pity if we have to take equity out of our house. It's valued at around £250,000 and for us to take £100,000 out it will cost £150,000 which goes to the lender. So, we wouldn't be able to leave anything then.

 

I'm not sure of your reasonings of taking equity or, maybe downsizing is something to look at? I've never heard of friends planning their future round an inheritance, as it's never a given (in my circles anyway). 

IAMIAM

Do what the will says, end of conversation. That's why we have a will and law's because people always think what they want to think. 

Gavin83

stevio said:

I can obviously understand the plight young people are in today regarding property and unfortunately with everything ramping up it will only get worse. However, don't forget that the child of the deceased also lives in this world and has stopped earning as they are now 3 years into their retirement. We've always been under the impression that the bulk of the estate is handed down to the next of kin to help them in their retirement.

It would be a pity if we have to take equity out of our house. It's valued at around £250,000 and for us to take £100,000 out it will cost £150,000 which goes to the lender. So, we wouldn't be able to leave anything then.

 

As several have pointed out there is no normal. It's certainly becoming more and more common for grandchildren to receive a large sum or even the bulk/all of the estate. It's also extremely bad financial planning to plan your retirement based on receiving an inheritance. Always assume you'll receive nothing and then anything else beyond that is a bonus.

It's not uncommon for almost an entire estate to be swallowed up by care costs for example. I used to work in this area and we'd get the children asking how they were meant to retire without the inheritance they were due, ignoring the fact they had no right over this money what so ever.

Also if you need to take equity out of your house for whatever reason you wish then do so. It's your money/assets and how you spend it is your choice. You don't owe your children anything and they should be planning for their own futures too.

getmore4less

Families can be come self sufficient in housing(owned) within 3 generations if the properties are recycled.

What happens is parent inherit and just use it up, rinse repeat

If the parents are already doing ok passing some down a generation for improved housing is a smart thing to do.
Especially if an IHT situation develops from doing ok and inheritance of a good chunk.

Assets down income up  where assets are held by the younger generation that support the older ones later in life can be a very good wealth creator.

Bonniepurple

With us, the parental Wills give a 50:50 split between siblings.  Grandchildren aren’t mentioned as they are all under 18 (and there is the possibility of more!).  When the time comes, I would use part of my share to save for my children.  What my brother does is up to him (although I know that I am his sole beneficiary should anything happen!).

I’d like to inherit - but not at the cost of my parents enjoying whatever time they’ve got left.  If it’s eaten by care costs,  so what?  If my Dad decides to leave it all to the local cats home that’s fine (I would see if I could get a cat or two out of it though!).  It’s his money. Not mine.

Malthusian

stevio said:

Thanks guys. The deceased wishes will be carried out. I should have made clear that if the estate is 90k then the daughter gets 50k and 40k goes to the grandchildren. ignore the 40/50 split.

I was just wondering is this normal or do most still leave the bulk to their children?

The typical inheritor now inherits at around 60 from their longest-lived parent aged around 90. (The average life expectancy of a 30-year-old new mother today is about 88, but bear in mind that the typical inheritor needs to wait for both of their parents to die. Many families are more complicated than this, of course, but this is the most common scenario.)
By 60 most people are financially set up. If they aren't dependent on their parents' inheritance for their retirement plans, it is more than likely that the grandchildren will make more use of the money.
The child is getting 5 times as much as the other beneficiaries, I would say this is still a fairly normal arrangement.