Kids, Wealth, and Consequences: Ensuring a Responsible Financial Future for the Next Generation

Chapter 8. Communication

Money may talk, but few with money like to talk about it. Many wealthy people are even uncomfortable discussing wealth with family members. Keep in mind that even if you believe it is in bad taste to discuss money, you are communicating your beliefs, values, and attitudes about it pretty much all the time.

While many wealthy people believe that their legacy is their wealth, the attitudes and values we pass along with that money comprise the larger legacy, yet it is often not discussed.

When is it appropriate to discuss with children what, when, and how they will inherit? Should parents try to dictate how their children will spend, save, invest, and donate the money they'll inherit? How can they help their children develop a positive identity that is not defined by money? We will explore these questions in this chapter, as well as different communication styles and how one type of communicator can communicate effectively with other types of communicators.

Self-Survey about Communication

Let's first weigh in with our attitudes and assumptions related to communicating about wealth with our children in the self-survey below. As in previous chapters, please write your answers now in the column to the left; after reading the chapter, you can survey yourself again and write the answers in the right-hand column to see how your perceptions and attitudes may have changed.

Self-Survey about Communication

1 = Strongly Agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Disagree, 5 = Strongly ...