Out of Debt Christian recently received a great question from one of our readers. He asked for advice on the topic of spoiling the child versus inheritance. The Bible is clear about not spoiling our children; however, that doesn’t apply when it comes to leaving your children with what they need when you are no longer here.
For help with this topic I turned to my church’s Pastor of Financial Planning Joe Sangl. He and his wife had some words of wisdom on the topic and first quoted Proverbs 13:22 which says “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.”
“I believe God wants us to bless the next generation,” they said. “God did not call us to be broke.”
He and his wife, Jenn, put an interesting twist on it saying that the trick is to teach your children how to handle money properly. They discussed their personal life and plan on leaving an inheritance for their daughter and they are teaching her how to be aware of money. “She had a conversation with our friends the other day and was outraged at the prices of smoothies at our church coffee shop. She gets it,” they said.
This summer Joe tackled the issue of Estate Planning on his blog and discussed an article from Money Magazine on the topic. The article tells readers to ask themselves five questions:
Give Now or Give Later? Giving money to your loved ones now may be an option to help avoid higher taxes later.
Equal or Fair? This tackles the issue of how you should split your money among your offspring.
Simple or Complicated? A simple will or living trust are what is discussed under this question.
Want to Give to Charity? A traditional IRA is the best way to donate some of your estate.
When Should You Revisit Your Plan? Things change quickly, so make sure you contact your attorney every three years or so.
I felt it was important to contact a financial advisor when it came to this type of issue. I hope this has helped our readers to understand estate planning a bit better.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
My name is Michelle Turner and I am begging for your help as a last resort! My story is a very difficult story to tell. About seven years ago my husband and I purchased a home from my parents. My parents had obtained the home after my great uncle had passed away. We were young and stupid to think that family and money could mix! We went to the bankand askto borrow the money to purchase the home from my parents. The bank let us borrow the money as long as we purchased title insurance, so we purchased title insurance and borrowed the money for the home. My parents recieved the money and we moved into our new starter home. We remodled the bathroom and some other things. After about six months of living in the home we recieved a letter in the mail stating that someone had contested the will and was awarded the home. So we had to move out of our home with our two young sons imediatley. We went to court several times over the course of the past seven years and learned alot of valuable lessons. First off the Circuit Clerks office made a mistake and didn’t file their paperwork in the proper manner. Therefor we purchased a home that was tied up in court. So the lady that sold us the title insurance policy had to pay the title insurance company for the circuit clerks mistake and the title insurance company paid the bank for their loss, but no one paid us for our loss. We decided to cut our losses and move on. I quit my job to pursue a career in nursing. I started LPN school and thought all was finally over. Boy was I wrong! I got home from school one day and recieved a letter in the mail that stated my husbands wages were going to be garnished 25% for $20,000 that we owed the bank for court costs. We had no idea that we owed any money. The bank never notified us and my parents never told us that they agreed on our behalf that we would pay the money. My parents knew for over a year that they agreed that we would pay the $20,000 and never told us. When we asked the bank president why he never notifoed us that we owed the money all he had to say is that he told my parents. So now we can’t pay our bills and we are at risk of being homeless again. We have two young sons and I can’t possibly tell them that we have to move again because their granny and papa did something so wrong. My parents already owed me $5000 for some material that they charged to my home depot card on my little sisters behalf. My sister has two kids and needed a place to live so my parents decided to build her an apartment in their pole barn. My dad asked to borrow my home depot card but promised to pay the bill, but he never did. I was angry about that but had decided that it was only $5000 and wasn’t going to let it get my family down. My parents have since kicked my sister and her two kids out and are now collecting rent money on the apartment. I can’t believe my parents and the things that they do! So I am left paying $5000 for an apartment that my parents are benefiting financially from, and $20,000 for a home that I paid $60,000 (to my parents) for that wasn’t even theirs to sell. I just don’t know what else to do so I am begging for help! If you can help me legally, financially, or mentally I would greatly appreciate it!
October 10th, 2009 at 2:45 am
we recommend that you don’t get financial advice from family members, close friends, or co-workers when it comes to making money decisions. One thing my father told me when I was about 15yrs old was this. When you get paid or earn any kind of income you always tithe 10% to your local Church, first, then give 10% to your savings account and live on the remaining 80%.
October 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I would suggest maybe getting a real estate lawyer. I’m so sorry all this has happened to you. I hope things work out. I know it is hard to see how things might be okay in the future, but God has a plan and will take care of you and your family.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Dear Michelle,
Have you visited Dave Ramsey’s website? He may be able to direct you regarding your legal situation. He also has a staff of advisors avaialable to help you.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Your parents commited fraud by claiming something was theres regardless of the fact that they were truthful or not they stillcommitted fraud.
You need to get a good lawyer they should be in jail or at least have there wages garnished and a lean on there property.
They owe you money you have all the documents that says you gave it to them and they need to give it back.