3 essential tips on talking to your family about inheritance and ensuring your legacy
It may be an awkward conversation but a crucial one so that conflict can be avoided, your heirs’ expectations aligned, and well-being boosted
Beyond the general discomfort of talking about death, the topic of inheritance brings in a whole other set of sticky issues.
Research finds that parents’ and children’s expectations for bequests are rarely aligned, even among those who have a good relationship, which is why it’s so important to get on the same page with heirs early on.
In addition to ensuring clear intentions, better parental communication about finances has been found to boost well-being and reduce financial stress in adult children in times of transition. As for you, communicating about your bequest gives you the opportunity to express not just the materials but also the values you hope to pass on – and this act of articulating your legacy has been found to be a vital and rewarding part of an adult’s life.
Provided you already have your estate planned, the next step is to talk about it with your heirs. Use these three tips to make the most of your conversations.
1. Reflect on your own experience
Whether positive or negative, you may find insight into how you want to handle your own bequest. For example, did you experience conflict because a family member failed to communicate how they were dividing cherished heirlooms? Or did you appreciate how a loved one explained their plans to divide things equally among heirs to avoid family conflict over material goods? Your personal connection to the experience may motivate you to articulate how you decided who will inherit what or to address the intentionality behind your decisions.
