6 Reasons You Shouldn’t Expect an Inheritance — Even If Your Family Is Wealthy
Written by
Laura Bogart
Edited by
T. Woods
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
If you’re planning on an inheritance to help secure your financial futures, you might want to reconsider. Even if your family has wealth to share, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can bank on suddenly clearing a check and ending up on easy street. In fact, you should likely move ahead as if you won’t be receiving anything from family members who have passed away.
1. Elders Might Get Hit with Healthcare Costs
As more Americans live longer and healthcare costs rise, many parents and grandparents simply don’t have much money leftover as they enter their later years. Living with diseases like cancer, dementia and Alzheimer’s can be brutal and costly: There are often hospital and rehab bills to cover, as well as fees for in-home caregivers. As conditions progress, our elders may require full-time care. Home health aides can run anywhere from $26 an hour to over $20,000 a month. The cost of a private room in a skilled nursing facility can often approach nearly $10,000 a month — or even exceed it.
2. Seniors Are Spending More Money
However, your elders might not be able to leave you an inheritance for far happier reasons. If your parents and grandparents are fortunate enough to stay healthy in their golden years, they might want to take those long vacations they never got to enjoy when they were working. Some seniors don’t even hop on a plane for luxurious experiences, they might start dining out more or join social clubs that involve trips out of town, with costs that additionally add up.
3. Our Parents Might Not Think It’s in Our Best Interest
If your parents think anything like Warren Buffet, they might believe that leaving you too large of an inheritance will stunt your willingness to go out and achieve. Famously, he vowed to leave his kids, “enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.” Parents who want their children to show the same grit and hard work to succeed might create a trust where you must do — or not do — certain things to receive your inheritance money. For instance, under certain kinds of incentive trusts, you’ll only receive trust fund money if you’re gainfully employed, with funds distributed to match your salaries dollar per dollar.
4. If There’s No Will, There’s No Way
Unless you’ve specifically had those difficult conversations with your family members about their wills and estate plans, you can’t assume that they even have those plans in place. According to Care.com’s 2024 Wills and Estate Planning Study, only 32% of Americans have drafted a will, representing the first downturn in estate planning rates since 2020. While many survey respondents shared that a medical diagnosis or health concern would inspire them to get a will, we often can’t plan for major life events like an illness — especially if it happens suddenly. Even the most careful people can still succumb to accidents, leaving the state of their estate up for debate.
5. Life Changes, and So Do Estate Plans
Even if your loved ones draft a will that leaves you a handsome sum, changes in life can prompt them to break out the red pen. Finding the companionship of a new spouse or partner can compel your relatives to change their wills. So can the births and adoptions of grandchildren. The seniors in your life might also find a new cause to put their passion and their funds into. As life changes, so can estate plans and wills. One should never simply assume that the wills your parents had in place yesterday will stay the same today.
6. We Might Get Funds, But Not Enough to Retire On
Everything might go perfectly according to plan, with your parents or grandparents living out their golden years in health and happiness, and able to leave you an inheritance you can access with no strings attached. Yet you might be one of several adult children or grandchildren who are receiving an equal amount — and that amount might not be enough to live on during your own retirement. Instead of planning to live the high life, it might be wise to consider saving your inheritance money.
More From GOBankingRates
