“If you are thinking a year ahead, plant a seed…If you are thinking a decade ahead, plant a tree…but if you are thinking a century ahead, educate the people.”

PARENTS-CHILDREN & INHERITANCE
A famous adage in Hindi goes like this.

“Poot sapoot to kyun dhan sanchay? Poot kapoot to kyun dhan sanchay?”
Simply put, it means, if your offspring is good, what is the need of hoarding money for them, because they would be capable enough to earn and save for themselves. On the other hand, if the offspring is bad, even then what is the need of hoarding money, as whatever is saved by parents, making sacrifices, would anyway be squandered by them.
Parents, out of their love for children tend to do this. Not knowing their lifespan, o the longevity of their money, yet parents want to ensure a rosy future for their children. This is a natural parental instinct that can be said to be generous.
How parents can prepare children to handle wealth after inheritance?
This is an age of obsessive parenting, also termed over parenting or at times hyper parenting. Where parents go overboard defending not only their child’s present but also future. There are parents who spend their entire lifetime securing the child’s future. Will not it be a good practice to enable the children to earn and fend for their own, rather than spoiling them and making them overly dependent? As parents, they slog throughout their lives, do not pamper themselves with luxury, save every penny, not so it comes in useful for a rainy day, but with only one thought in their minds – their children. The question is the viability of such a practice.

Studies reveal there are different kinds of children – greedy and lazy children who actually lay their eyes on the parent’s properties, at the same time self-respecting individuals who are filled with shame and guilt on inheriting for free. Others perceive them as enjoying the fruit of parent’s labor, and society looks at them with ridicule, sarcasm and envy.

Young people, rather than reaping and enjoying the benefits of the seeds sown by their parents, crave for respect. They feel a sense of pride only when they stand on their own feet. This sense of accomplishment makes inheritors reticent, when enjoying inheritance. And there are others who wait for an opportunity to grab the legacy.
Parents can help prepare the children in how to cope with inheritance.
As the child grows, he/she is mature enough to understand the value of an asset or money in life. Rather than starving the kid and storing up the money in the forms of funds, try to talk to your children and understand their priorities in life. It might come as a surprise that a few children would want to pursue their education, a few would want to extravagantly spend it, a few would want to pass it on and a few would even want to donate it to charity.
Make the child financially literate. Make them read and gain an understanding of the fiscal aspects, the instruments, the cost implications, taxes, legal compliances etc., in one word teach them the art of managing wealth.
Research shows that inheritors tend to use their wealth differently for material comforts, investment capital, social causes, or inert hoarding, depending on their orientation. Each one is a significant choice that impacts their life. Help your child make it, by holding intense and meaningful conversations about wealth.

Ask the children to make a list of what they would like to do with the money, thus inherited, in order of priority – a kind of a bliss list or a wish list.
Try to sit with the child during the process to help prioritize priorities.
Make them demarcate between genuine people and flatterers, and also how to use their discretion in lending and clearing loans.
Children should not live with the burden of inheritance, in that the thought that legacy has to be safeguarded. Teach them and gift them the freedom of chalking out their own financial plans in alignment with their aspirations, needs, goals and pursuits. Allow them the freedom of choice.
Once a parent, creating a will is of utmost importance – this is particularly correct, in case of minor children. There is also an impact on the lives of majors also. Hence, it is essential to realize how the property has to move on to your children and how you’re the will might need to change as the children grow up.
It thus becomes imperative for the kids to have an understanding on the nature of will that they are going to receive.
Inheritance is only to ensure the children will be taken care of even after the demise of the parents – economically, physically and emotionally. A properly written will can give parents a peace of mind. This is when parents leave the legacy behind.
Is it mandatory to leave a will? An interesting topic for discussion!
We will have a look at the other side of the coin in our next article.
Till then… stay glued…. 🙂
Happy reading!