The Living Trust Advisor

CHAPTER 18 Do Not Leave Your Child an Outright Inheritance Or, I’m Not Kidding! Don’t Leave Your Child an Outright Inheritance

Your children do not want you to read this chapter, because it talks about putting controls on their inheritance. I don’t blame them. No one wants to be limited in how they manage and spend their own money. You wouldn’t want such control imposed on you. I certainly wouldn’t want my parents to restrict the use of my inheritance.

Nonetheless, as your Living Trust coach, I am instructing—nay, demanding—that you never leave any child an outright inheritance of your Living Trust assets. I know that you have noticed such sweeping generalizations throughout this book, but you have never before heard me use the word never. But that’s how adamant I am about this point, which I will make again, this time with capitals, bold type, and an exclamation point: NEVER LEAVE ANY OF YOUR CHILDREN AN OUTRIGHT INHERITANCE!

Financial Advisor Alert

DO NOT ALLOW YOUR CLIENTS TO LEAVE ANY OF THEIR CHILDREN AN OUTRIGHT INHERITANCE! If your clients’ Living Trust leaves their child’s inheritance share “outright and free of trust,” then throw the book at them—this book, and as it flies from your hand, instruct them to read Chapter 18.

The reason that you do not want to leave your children an outright inheritance is this: If you leave your children an outright inheritance, the money and property in your Living Trust—the family money that took you a lifetime of hard work to ...