Grandparents leaving money to grandchildren?

[Honeysucklelane]

I read an article recently about the rise in grandparents leaving their will to their grandchildren instead of their children.

I believe my in-laws may be doing this and I’m not sure how I feel about it. On one hand thrilled for my children, but on the other worried they may come into a ton of money at a young age.

How do other people feel about this?

I suppose potentially, also, what happens if another grandchild is born after the grandparents die?

I don't like it skipping a generation. It feels wrong to me.

The will should generically say it gets divided among any grandchildren existing at the time of death. That would cover ones not yet born.

My mother left a few thousand for the children and the main chunk was left to myself and my sister. Sister doesn’t have children,so would have been very unfair if the grandchildren had inherited all of her estate.
I reserved a significant amount for each child so all is ok .
Have a friend whose parents left all their money to the grandchildren,without any warning. Definitely think she has struggled with that decision.

Yeah but you could easily already be divorced and back to the marrying/meeting new people stage.

My in-laws have it in a trust for my kids - gets released in portions at specific ages (18/25 and 30 I think). I think we can also access it for specific purposes like for a house deposit. So would this sort of thing be an option?

Um, no it wouldn't? That would cover those born after the will was written, not after the grandparents died.

You might feel differently if you had one child and your sibling had four then they get 4/5 when you and your sibling would have received 1/2 each. Then again, you might not.

Well it must be an option if they've done it!

If the child in in their 70's there is a good chance that the grand children are in their 40-50's and then is should skip 2 generations to go to greatgrandchildren who need it. But then again maybe it is just my family but the relatuonshionwith grandparents and greatgrandparent is very differnet.

But I really think all of this depends on the financial situation of people involved. Would be nice for the person in their 70's to retire and maybe have the hip operation at the private hospital since the NHS queue is unbearable. Or renovate the house to be accessible so they can stay home longer. Or if they're all set, then just go for the next gen.

Today’s youngsters need their inheritance now rather than waiting for their parents to die maybe a decade or two after inheriting from grandparents at a time they’re mostly settled and need the money less. Skipping a generation makes sense, and yes, it’s becoming more and more popular/common.

I suppose so, though that doesn't apply to me and DH. If we did divorce (won't) I plan to be single for life anyway. I'm done with all that.

No, not after the grandparents died. Just bad luck isn't it? If you weren't born in time. My will covers any grandchildren existing at the time of death.

And their parents don't need it to offset the costs of old age, which might otherwise become a pressure point for the younger generation?

@XelaM You're obviously in a financial position to be able to say that.

Well indeed - but if you left it to your children (generic you, I am not talking about your individual case) then they could pass it to all grandchildren existing at the time of their death. It's a problem that exists if you skip a generation and not if you don't. There are arguments for and against both.

So?
The funds are dispensed on the death of the benefactor.
How long do you think they should be preserved in amber for in case some other children are born?

If I receive an inheritance from my mother I will be passing almost all of it on to my young adult children. My two siblings however, one does not have children (so it would be very unfair if they were passed over in favour of the next generation) and my sister will still have a big mortgage to pay off.

@Badbadbunny I think it's awful to do that. It's natural to pass on any savings to your child/children IMO. They can decide if they want to help their children. I think passing on to grandchildren could cause a lot of issues within a family.

It doesn't feel right.

Again, if you left it to your children in the traditional way, it could be passed down to all their children in the course of time, including children you never met.
If you leave it to grandchildren existing at the time of your death, latecomers may get nothing.
I'm not saying this is a dealbreaker, but it's a problem leaving it to grandchildren might introduce.

Yes, but I'm in favour of leaving it to the next generation anyway, not the grandchildren. Leaving it to the children will tend to benefit the grandchildren indirectly anyway, and it will eventually get to them. Being in your 50s/60s doesn't mean you don't have future financial planning needs.

A couple of pp seem to be upset that if the money goes to the grandchildren instead of them they will have to carry on working until retirement age.
Maybe this is why their parents are leaving their money to the grandchildren.
If all my money doesn’t go in care home fees then I would like to leave money to my children to eventually pass down to the grandchildren/great grandchildren not just so the children can retire early.

Mine and my husbands parents are doing this. We've all discussed it and personally I prefer it. I think life will be harder for my children than it was for me. We own our house, have a business ourselves and do not have a specific need for anything.

So the money will most likely go on care home fees and also there is absolutely zero guarantee that the parents would give their children any money. If I wanted my grandchildren to benefit, I would leave it to them directly - not via my children. I would be very happy if my parents did this, as I would be happy for my kids to be set up and have a nice life whilst they're young enough to enjoy it. I can sort myself out if my kids are provided for.

I don't have children but I have sort of done this myself in my will. I intend to leave my wealth to the great nephews and nieces, not the nephews and nieces. The reasons being the nephews and nieces are not that much younger than me (9-12 years), thus if I live well into old age and die of natural causes (my grandmother lived to 102 and her brother to 103 so I may have the genetics for a long life), they will be well into old age themselves, and they are doing very well in their careers so will not be short of money in retirement. Secondly, it is the younger generations that regularly get screwed as governments ignore them (an irrelevant voting group) in favour of pandering to pensioners (a powerful voting group capable of swinging elections), so they will be far more likely to need the money than their parents. That is before we get onto the fact that the severe consequences of decades of unsustainable living and climate change will be hitting hard by then, so they need all the help they can get.