FAQ Friday: Inheritance
On Friday, December 1st, Attorney, Mr. Berger discusses the topic: "Who is receiving the majority of inheritances?"
One of five households receive an inheritance and the average amount is $266,000. For those in their 70s, two out of five households receive an inheritance. Along with that bumps the average up to $344,000.
Most people inherit when in their 50s. The bottom half of lower earning wage earners receive half the amount of the inheritance received by the top 50% wage earners. The top 1% earn at two times the rate of the average.
The wealthy hold onto their assets the longest. With the state exemption being 13.6 million, that leaves a lot of room to keep assets until passing.
Why are so few families receiving inheritance these days?
Long term care costs have risen and if one ends up in a nursing home, any remaining assets are often “chewed up”. If long term care insurance isn’t held and elder law planning has not been completed then this can be a draining experience.
In larger estates there are sometimes situations of financial elder abuse. Sometimes only one child will inherit which limits the families inheriting. This can be in the case of a favorite child or maybe geographical locations of each child.
There can also be reporting issues or the inability to find beneficiaries.
People are living longer these days and when children don’t live close, they can often spend more on their day to day spending.
Medical and living expenses without an income add up quickly.
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