How rich will you be after your parents are gone?

they are already, and I'm debt free but poor

When my mother passes, my net worth should roughly double. How much that would be, modesty forbids me from saying.

I just inherited 4 million in stock take free and found out another half a million in cash. All tax free because of a trust.

Thanks Dad.

That's tax free, not take free. The iPad doesn't like the word tax.

My parents estate added to my portfolio considerably but I would have been fine without it. I was able to retire even earlier than I had planned.

What will you inherit, OP?

Step mom got my dad's and I assume what's left when she passes will go to my half brother. My mom and grandmother both will have estates in the very low millions (and they both worry constantly about money), but I have 3 siblings and the women in my family live forever - they could very well outlive me. Mom is 75 and Gram will be 104 at the end of the month (and had 3 sisters who were pushing 100 when they died). The men all die in their 60's and 70's.

[quote]When my mother passes, my net worth should roughly double.

Yeah, mine too. I'm worth about $5 now, and will be worth about $10 after she dies.

Million or Billion R7?

At this point it's not looking too good...

I will get about one million when my parents die. But I love them dearly and don't want to think of them gone (they are both in their late seventies).

He's flat broke lost the house and his small social security check is his only steady income. So his death won't help my net worth a bit. At least he always has his funeral paid for.

About 25 years ago my dad inherited an anuity of one million that was paid out to him over a 20 year period. I know he lives modestly and also has a generous retirement plan on top of that. I seriously doubt that he's spent very much of his inheritance. I don't know what that translates for me and siblings down the road.

This thread is triggering.

My brother sister and I will spit about 1.5M. Not a fortune but a nest egg.

MOther died 28 years ago; left c. $5,000 in 3, tiny insurance policies; left to my father. Father died 20 years ago today; left total of $10,000 in several small insurance policies. Brother and I split that. Left house, appraised at c. $80,000; paid up. I kept up my half of taxes, expenses, etc.; sold my half (and insisted on $40K) to my brother (and SIL) 9 years later. Sold it happily, but became apparent I couldn't - and didn't want to - "keep up."

Not a parent, but my beloved aunt died 12 years ago; left 8 of us nephews and (some) wives, $35K each.

Went through the $40K from 1/2 brother/house and $35 K from my aunt, in less than 2 years. BUt that's another story...

Those of you getting the big bucks - manage it wisely; lawyers and biz managers CAN be helpful. Estate tax is what, now - only if over $2MM?

My father died when I was eleven and my mother died when I was sixteen, what did I get? Nothing. But then again, I didn't earn it, so I why does their dying make me or anyone else think I am entitled to anything.

My dad ownes several apartment buildings. They aren't huge 100 untit places, I think the largest has 15 units but most are 6-8 units. Thankfully they're all in good neighborhoods with good tenants. Aside from that I don't know.

only one million. just 700K. sure not more than 2 million.

jeezaz people, fuck off with your humble brags.. bully for you! now stfu -- some of us are really struggling on our own.

Took me six years in court sorting out the mess of my mother's will, but I finally prevailed. Now I live in Europe (well). I feel I earned every fucking penny.

Mother net worth is about $3,000. She lives in a subsidized senior housing.

She's 85 yrs and hasn't planned her funeral.

R15

Federal estate tax kicks in at just over 5 million these days.

TRIGGER WARNING WOULD'VE BE NICE, OP?

Life is a very unfair lottery, and who your parents are and what they are able to or chose to leave their kids is very unfair.

In France, it is not possible to disown your children. Sure, there are ways people can try and hide their assets but the law is : you have a kid, your assets will be divided among them. Plenty of gay people have been disowned by their homophobe parents and cut out of wills, and it's disgusting.

My father died broke and left debts. I have no idea what my mother's estate is worth, not much at all.

Unfortunately I didn't grow up rich, so not much, a small house, that's basically it.

-$7,000 for casket and viewing.

He outlived his money and oldest brother seethes to this day.

It really depends on when & what health problems they may have.

Also, my mom has delusions of grandeur about the price of their house...so I have no idea what's gonna happen there. The sad fact is it barely went up in value since they bought it in the 80s because the whole area got so built up, nobody would ever want some old 80s house (with minimal renovations).

Now I finally know why I'M poor, my parents were apparently, according to all these tales of familiar riches.

Why work when you can just wait for Mummie and Daddie to die!?

My parents currently own a home worth about $500,000. I believe they have assets and cash totaling around a million (in addition to the house).

Divided between my and my sister.

[quote]-$7,000 for casket and viewing.

You got off cheaply. My dad's funeral was 15k. We paid $2000 alone to "rent" the casket he laid in for less than 24 hours before he was cremated. Turns out in Minnesota you can re-use a casket, but not the lining, so the funeral home charged that much for the cheap satin lining in the casket. BTW, the 15k did not include a plot, burial or headstone. My dad's family is interred in a small private cemetery that has about 5 families in it so the plot was paid for in about 1910 and his ashes were buried in one of his Harley boots - kind of trashy but also kind of cool. The marker, which I have to give kudos to my stepmother for originality, is a really nice granite bench with his name on the edge of the seat rather than a headstone. One of the advantages of having a family pot, I guess.

There may be a few dimes under the couch cushions.

Both my parents are on fixed incomes and live with me in my condo. They never owned a home so all they have is their monthly pensions which covers their living expenses. They're savings will most likely go to pay their funerals so really I won't be getting anything. But that doesn't stop my sisters from speculating that I will inherit everything, and then bad mouthing me to anyone who will listen.

R27, some of the richest people I know inherited their money. My cousin worked his entire life as a security guard earning peanuts. When his father died and left him the family farm, my cousin parceled it out for property development and made a few million. He lives like a king today and has never done a decent days work in his life.

I will inherit a couple million. All in property and investments, and all managed by me. My parents will live the rest of their lives comfortably with the best care and anything they want.

When they die (they are late 60s) it all goes half and half.

I get half, and I have a brother who has 5 kids. Each child gets 10%, and my brother gets nothing but some guns my dad specifically left to him.

My dad already died. I inherited $100,000 plus a third of his house which is now worth about $1,100,000, although it still has a $183,000 mortgage.

If my oldest sister outlives her husband, I'll be inheriting a few million in assets.

Those of you with stepmothers, how do you handle it when she gets everything in the will.

Frankly, I'm hoping for my Dad's reading chair + ottoman.

I have a dark feeling that his watch collection will go to my youngest brother...

I am set to inherit a couple of million (each of us four siblings are) -- but both parents are really getting weird in their very old age and so much can happen that I am not remotely counting on any of it. They've been married forever with little incident, there's a lot of love and not much strife in the family but still... Should my mom go first, which was never considered until recently, I fear my Dad would find some more palpable version of Anna Nicole Smith and all hell will break loose.

The stepmom question above is a legit one. I fear it would push me over the edge, especially if it was obvious gold-digging.

I'm currently debt free, but have very little in savings. My parents are in their late 80s. When they die, I'll be inheriting about $40,000 in debt primarily because they've been paying my brother's way his whole life.

You can't inherit debt.

[quote]I have a dark feeling that his watch collection will go to my youngest brother...

Why do you think this will happen R36? Can you politely suggest to your father otherwise?

Actually R39 you can. A lot of people make the mistake of making a payment after their parents die and that automatically makes you responsible for that debt. After your parents are gone refuse to pay anything--mortgage, taxes, bills, phone, nothing. Tell them all to fuck themselves.

When my mother died long after my father died, I inherited under $10,000. Fully expected that would be my entire inheritance from anyone. A few years ago a great uncle on my mothers side, I had never even heard of died without a will and no wife or children, and an estate of about a half million. There were tons of relatives and my share turned out to be around $6,000. I figured wonderful but that was all I would ever get.

A couple of years later my only living cousin on my fathers side died, without wife, children or a will or any beneficiaries listed on his accounts. I had met him once when we were both around 5 years old. Well there were less relatives on that side of the family and I ended up with an unexpected inheritance of around $350,000. So now I am wondering if there are any more relatives without wills or children. Next.

[quote] Those of you with stepmothers, how do you handle it when she gets everything in the will.

I guess this depends on your relationship with your stepmother.

For me, she is family. I have the expectation that, when she is old, I will help her with planning her eldercare, doctor's visits, and all that jazz. (At the moment, I take her mother out for lunch once a week, check up with her after doctor's visits by phone, etc.) My step-mother has the expectation that I will be more like a parental figure to her very young son (my half-brother) when she and our dad are no longer around.

I hope that money thing will work itself out--I think they are worth about 8 million together. The one thing I do know is that the vacation house (250k) is in trust to me. I'm not a hugely materialistic person, so I don't really worry about these things.

I guess I would say that be clear to yourself about who your stepmother is to you. If she is a generous reasonable soul, treat her like family. If she is Anna Nicole Smith, lawyer up.

R40, I was half joking about the watch collection...but not really.

I think the watch collection will go to my youngest brother because I'm a woman. I have, at times, boldly asserted that a tall woman (such as I am) CAN pull off an IWC with panache, but I don't think I have him convinced yet. Though I won't shed a tear over some of the others--nothing too grand, a pair of Rolexes, an Omega Speedmaster, and some other pricey, but not really expensive stuff. (No Pateks or anything really extravagant.)

But I want the IWC...

[quote]But I want the IWC...

Make sure you get the Speedmaster too.

R45, come on...a chick can't really wear a Speedmaster.

Let me put it this way - I'll be draining spaghetti

Yes you can R46. Put it on a leather strap or a NATO band and I'm sure you can pull it off.

I won't even be able to go thru all my own money much less make a dent in anyone else's.

Are you single R49? I'm hot and easy.

I just found out my 93 year old mother is changing her will to leave everything except her home to the university she and my father attended. Now the 6 children will only receive and equally share the value of the home in which she lives.

She, however, inherited everything from my father's family, including the gift of lake property worth 1.5 million and a 5 lumberyards. My father is deceased. His will left everything to her. We are all shell-shocked. She didn't discuss it with a single one of us. I spend a week a month with her to help her keep her independence, as she lives alone, and I had absolutely no idea she was being importuned in this way by the university.

Don't expect too much people! When my dad passed away, my own fucking mother stole my inheritance, fucking bitch is living the high life while I can't even afford a decent vacation.

The poster with the 93-year old mother needs to talk to an attorney.

I am in a real funk since discovering that the roughly 6 million my parents were worth when they died last year is mostly locked into a charitable trust. I knew about the trust before they died, and I understood that I would not be able to leave the money to anyone after I died, but I did not understand that I would basically only be receiving a check for 30K quarterly. I'm not turning up my nose at 120K per year, but I can't do something semi-extravagant as I always was told by my dad that I would be able to do*such as move into a grander abode from my paid for but pedestrian home in Fl.) I am almost 60, so times a-wasting for that sort of thing. Is there anyone here who is a financial planning expert who has any ideas about circumventing the trust at least temporarily?(meaning, could I use say 700K from the trust to buy a house, live in it 5 years, and then sell it and pay back the trust?)

when my dad died i got his Rolex which i promptly sold (it was newish and not my style, had it been vintage i would have kept it.) When my mom goes, we'll split the house which is paid for and currently worth around $600,000+, and we will split her various bonds and CD's. My mom's good jewelry (my dad was a jeweler so she's got some major bling) will go to my only niece since my sister doesn't like gold or diamonds.

Love R47!

[quote]Those of you with stepmothers, how do you handle it when she gets everything in the will.

It depends on whether or no they had kids of their own. I fully expect anything my dad left his wife will go to my half brother. My stepfather was a different story - He and my mom had no kids, but I know from seeing his will that if he had died before mom my brothers and I still would have been willed everything. He was a class act.

R54, can't you afford a fucking lawyer if you're getting 30k per quarter?

I am sickened at the idea of profiting from someone else's death. I will be richer for having known them and poorer for their loss.

Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way, OP.

R54, I'm not a lawyer, but I doubt you can do this. Charitable trusts are irrevocable, and I'm pretty sure whoever is the trustee managing it would block you.

I mean, if you have 120k guaranteed income, aside from any money you are earning, you should be able to rent a snazzy home for 5 years. You might even qualify for a loan.

I have no guilt about inheriting my family fortune. My father did not earn his wealth-- he merely inherited it. As such, he was the custodian of privilege.

Older, better families understand these matters.

Thank you R61. Someone else said "with 30K per month, can't you afford a lawyer?" Here's my problem; the attorney who handled my dad's business including all the inheritance stuff is a very big fish in a very small pond where I live. I imagine that no one would have any interest in pissing him off by helping me go against him in any way. I thin your advice about my renting something really nice for a few years is probably my best bet. Normally one doesn't want to throw up to 10K per month away on rent; but in my case, what else do I have to do with my money? I have no heirs, and I as I said, I do own a house free and clear. I could rent it out while I live in luxury for a few years, and then when I'm approaching 70, I can sell my house, and combined with my trust payments, move into a really nice apartment with all the conveniences an oldster needs. Hopefully NOT a "retirement community" though. My folks were in a really top notch one in Vero for the last year and a half of their life, and even it depressed the hell out of me. Again, ty for taking the time to respond.

One of my divorced baby boomer patents inherited enough from their parents to retire at 44. Ergo their will likely nig be anything left.

R64 here

This thread caused me to drink.

The last sentence shoukd read, ergo there will likely be nothing left to inherit and I will work until I die.

Ergo fuck yourself.

R63, you're welcome. You know what the other problem would be with changing the trust--

[quote] If the charitable remainder beneficiaries were irrevocably named in the governing document, ascertaining those charitable organizations from which the trustee must obtain consent is relatively straightforward.

You can try to dissolve a charitable trust by petitioning through the court system, but you would need the consent of the charity that the money is eventually going to. I think that would be the bigger rub.

And this is a guide to dissolving an irrevocable trust.

How much does it cost if you don't trust it?

R67 Thank you for the additional links to further information, I shall read them immediately. The weird thing is that the beneficiary has been left for me to decide. I have been torn between a couple of causes, but my mind is still open. Even if, by some twist of fate, I was able to undo the trust, I would still leave everything to charity/ research. The term irrevocable sounds pretty daunting, but it's worth a shot.

You know what I am actually more afraid of than an Anna Nicole coming along and taking all the money? The church! I swear, they are preying on them and using their riches to finance programs, new wings, etc. It's their option, of course, but I would not be surprised if, in the 11th hour, our inheritance ends up going there.

I've inherited about $2.5 million from various people. It's worth more now because I'm very conservative with money and hate risk.

R70, okay, you gave us a valuable piece of information: the fact that they left it for you to decide now leads me to believe that they opted for the charitable trust because of tax benefits, so be sure you do a benefit/loss scenario should you try to dissolve the trust.

At the moment, your 6mm is earning 2% interest. If you pull the 700k out and put it into a house, that portion is no longer earning you money, for which you'll have to pay taxes, insurance, etc on. If you sell it later, you will most likely lose money (house prices are set to go down as interest rates rise by 2% in the next two years).

If you finance the 700k at 3.5%, 30yr, you'll be paying 3,300 per month, plus 8k a year in prop tax, 4k in prop insurance (maybe). So let's say 4,500 per month to buy. So that would take a quarter of your trust earnings, and you still have your job and the rental unit you've already paid off.

If it were me, I'd try to preserve the capital in the trust.

I paid a mere 1500 for my mothers remains via direct cremation, that includes the urn too.

This thread is The Rosetta Stone of DL and should be permantly saved and kept first.

A cadre of white aged queens with family money imeriously weighing in on issues is really what this site is about.

Anyone else should keep this is mind.

My dad's girlfriend was in his will. She was set to inherit a house, but my oldest sister made sure the girlfriend got NOTHING!!!!

Before my dad's last will, he was getting Alzheimer's. So my oldest sister had him give my younger sister and me a mortgage on the house that the girlfriend was set to inherit. Before my dad ultimately died of cancer, my oldest sister, as his power of attorney, quit claimed the girlfriend's house over to my younger sister and me in lieu of foreclosure.

So the girlfriend got NOTHING!! HA!!! HA!!! HA!!!!

Unfortunately, that house ended up being a headache for us, and there wasn't a lot of equity in it, and it was tough to rent out because the economy in the area was so bad. After a few years, we decided to sell it. We each got about $5,000 out of the sale of it.

$800 million

nothing. 15 million in the estate. I got squat. Because gay.

For 15 millin i convert to str8 in a heartbeat

R73 I should have said earlier that the reason for my dad establishing the trust was 100% based on tax benefits for him and my mom while they were alive. I did not realize that was so germane to the proposition of breaking it. You have given me some wonderful advice for which I am extremely grateful. I may at some point seek some advice from an atty not connected to my dad just for my own peace of mind, but I am pretty sure that i shall follow your advice about keeping the trust as it is and leasing a luxury property during my last few "good" years. LOL, if someone had told me even 10 years ago that I would ever think that 60 wasn't ancient w/ one foot in the grave, I never would have believed it. But, now that 60 is a reality, I realize that I can still enjoy travel and much of the same stuff I did in my forties.

I will be inheriting the house that my parents currently live in. I will be getting $75,000 in life insurance policies from each parent when they pass. My mom inherited my grandmother's house several years ago. My sister will be getting that house.

My dad never changed his will apparently,so I ended up with $300 000 even though we cordially hated each other. It was as much of a shock as realizing he had so much money that my mother didn't even realize existed. Of course,shes wasted pretty much most of her money at this point,and scads of my useless leech family members are very grateful indeed. But I bought a 4 unit apartment building in 2009 for peanuts,and as soon as she dies I sell her house and move into one of them and live very nicely.

Does power of attorney give you power to check out your father's will? I really need to know if they're going to give the summer house to my sister and her dumb ass of a husband. They send her a check each month and hired him to manage the regional office. I think they've given them more than enough.

When my father died a year & half ago, I inherited a house (paid off, ridiculously low property taxes) worth approximately $750,000; $1.3 million in mutual funds, and $500,000 in cash/savings accounts. And like R3, I avoided pesky taxes, because everything was left in a trust. There were also three life insurance policies, totaling $300,000.

I say a little "Thank you, Dad!" every day. Prior to his death, I had maybe $5,000 in savings, $90,000 in mutual funds, and I was renting. If it weren't for him, I would have been seriously fucked going into my AARP years. (not there yet! just looking ahead).

R84, what was your dad's occupation? Very nice for you..

I got a $300,000 check. Framed the deposit receipt. Retired at 58. Thank you, mom and dad. I have no children and hope to spend it all and die poor.

How can you retire on $300,000? Were you totally debt free or something?

Very nice R86! Do you have any life tips for us? I love learning from elders. They have great advice. Do you have any advice in general etc? I will be working till I die, cannot afford to retire.

R85, he was an entertainment lawyer/t.v. business affairs. (and it would have been a bit more, if not for that fucker Bernie Madoff. )

Well, my parents have been gone for about a week. They will be in Europe for another three weeks, they left me their keys, and I've sold most of the appliances and the two cars. I've emptied the safe in dad's office and mom's jewelry box. I think I shall be quite well off.

We've lead parallel lives, R84, because my dad died a year and a half ago, and my story is almost the same as yours.

Hey R75... Not everyone who inherits is old. Ever hear of grandparents?

You are stupid and a bigot to boot.

R75 is a black elder gay and all she got from her parents are manet albums and ebt cards!

I am debt free and live in a nice paid for condo. It could have been ten million, nothing would make me rich with my parents gone.

Relying on an inheritance isn't a sound strategy. Anything could happen and some of you vultures will likely be victims of karma.

My parents won't leave me any debt. That's enough for me.

I had a crazy aunt who had money stashed all over Pennsylvania in multiple banks and funds. When we finally figured everything out, I got a check for $65K. The rest went to my dad, about $500K. Then my dad died 5 months later, and he had about 750K. All of that and my Aunt's went to my mom. She now has my dad's pension from NY State to live on, $45K, not bad in upstate NY for an 80 year old woman, she said the rest now $1.3M will go to my sister and I when she passes. We were a very middle class family but now my Mom is a millionairess with a decent income on top of it. Life is strange..

A couple nickels and an old button

We are not on speaking terms with any of our family except for our widowed single mother and naturally we fear that our siblings will try to cheat us out of our inheritance from our mother but the executor is, we believe, our sister who is a lawyer and is thus bound by the court to enforce the provisias of the will or face prison if she does not?

R51, I understand your position because I lived it. I am the one above who went through a 6 year lawsuit because my mother fucked with the will she and my father had so carefully crafted, after my father died. It was a horror. I got so I didn't want to wake up in the morning because I knew I'd have to see the lawyer's emails. The lawsuit hemorrhaged money. If you are in the US, you can challenge a will on the grounds of mental incompetence or undue influence. No other grounds. I advise you to stay out of court, because as I am sure everyone knows, even if you win, you lose. But you should get all your ducks in a row now, if you think you might want to launch a will challenge. At 93, does she have all her marbles? Did the university pressure her? And make sure there isn't an ad terrorum clause in the will, which means, anyone who challenges a will gets nothing due to their audacity.

I had a close aunt who led me her paid off condo after she passed away. I'm very grateful. Too bad I have zero $ in the bank towards retirement

Zilch. My dad is 80 and I'm just hoping what he has left will cover him and pay for the funeral. My parents were never wealthy.

My father survived 2 wives, 1 girlfriend,1 care giver, who were all beneficiaries named in his Trust. I'm the only beneficiary left, his only child. He once told me that I would inherit in the neighborhood of $1.2 mil. I live simply, have nothing, want for nothing, and am TERRIFIED what I will do with so much money. My father will be 91 in a few months, and I'm hoping he survives to at least 101, uses up as much of the money as possible to live, so that I am not burdened by such tremendous responsibility.

My parents left me debt-free, but not much else. I'm scrimping and saving for my retirement, but still trying to give myself a nice life. It's hard sometimes.

I'm surrounded with friends in their 40s and early 50s who have inherited or stand to inherit enormous amounts of money from their parents. Many of them need never worry about retiring. One of them stopped working full time last year at the age of 48.

It's so unfair it's obscene.

How is it unfair? It's just life. Some have, others want, some make wise decisions, some don't, some have a bad stretch, others are lucky to have wealth handed down. Save your money, and don't be stupid and thank god we have SS to help still.

Too late, they've been gone for 7-13 years. Got nothing. I'm pretty well off on my own.

Huh, was just talking about this in another unrelated thread.

Dad was sick before I was even born so he never made much money. A medical situation back in 1990 wiped them out -- they agreed to experimental surgery for dad after being told it would get paid for because it would be written up in journals, but that fell through after the surgery, and they didn't have the $150K to pay the hospital. Mom had only just gotten financially solvent when she was terminally ill and had just taken out a mortgage on the home, so there was very little equity, and had just bought a brand new car. I think I got $10K from the house, $2K from returning the car, $6K from the auction (which the auctioneers fucked up, so some major antiques went for very cheap; I think it was a scam, actually) and about $10K in insurance policies.

The $28K I had left over after paying debts was lost almost entirely in the crash of 2008, when an Edward Jones investor had put all my money into Duke Realty to try to hide his own illegal actions. He did this to hundreds of people and was prosecuted, but got off by basically saying he couldn't control the market.

I hate this thread. Am I the only reader who hates this thread?

Why'd you read it, r107. All the way to 107, no less

I am having the same immature and emotional reaction to this thread as I had when I was graduated from my Ivy League college. On graduation day, it was like WIND FUCKING FALL CITY for many of my friends, the riches were raining down on to the golden boys and girls. Being a scholarship student, I got a kiss, a hug, and a congratulations. I ran into a sort of average not too glammy bourgeois friend of mine. She got 10K for graduation and thought THAT was peanuts, in comparison to stupendous asset drops we were hearing about. She said some nice things to me, not too feel too bad, or too smarmy for feeling jealous, because that's just life.

I am jealous of all of you, thought I don't hate you, but I hate this thread.

though not "thought". to not too oops, envy makes me sloppy

I love how Datalounge is suddenly filled with the children of millionaires when a thread like this pops up.

One hundred thousand shares of Apple stock plus two homes in the Los Angeles area all free and clear.

R109 Just remember this: there is a yin for every yang. Yes, I may be flummoxed about how I can work within the confines of a charitable trust , when I would much prefer the money being mine outright to do with as I please....and that might well be a problem you wish that you had.

Let me tell ya: I would trade it in a snap if I could be a healthy, well adjusted "normal" person with great friends and a real life. We all are given a bit of good(you going to an Ivy League school shows that you are bright and ambitious) and we all have some bad(my mother and I hated each other with a passion and I could never quite extricate myself from her web of misery. You have an elite education, but you have debt and no fortune awaiting you. Have you ever noticed that it's the well loved and happy people who get stage 4 breast cancer at 45? While the misanthropic, insecure loners like me have few health issues? Life is just a big tradeoff.make the most of what you have been given, and don't waste your energies thinking about those who have been seemingly "blessed" with more. Once you pull aside the curtain, the true picture you'd see is likely not one you'd want to trade places with.

R87, R88: I also have a pension, a thrift savings plan and income from a couple of investments. My advice? Choose your career (and your parents) wisely.

R109, most of the people here crowing about their millions are exaggerating or lying. I know millionaires through work, and they don't sit on web forums and talk about their stocks and investments... but my upper middle class bourgeois relatives sure as hell do.

I don't think anyone here is talking about millions. All of the posts have been quite modest.

Why is it surprising, R115? A lot of the responses are from baby boomers, whose parents made money and bought property in the post-WW2 boom, when houses were cheap.

[quote] I know millionaires through work, and they don't sit on web forums and talk about their stocks and investments

The children of millionaires do. We have more time on our hands.

For fuck's sake, R116, read the thread. Four million in stocks tax free, estates in the low millions, several apartment complexes, "now I live well in Europe," people able to afford "anything they desire," several people noting they will get one or two million, etc. etc.

You're just completely and utterly wrong, and I don't know what the hell thread you've been reading.

A house that was built in 1974 and barely renovated at all...to this very day.

On the plus side, it comes with Golden Girls inspired kitchen wallpaper and a cat.

Chocolate brown sinks. Very nice, R120.

I don't know where you're from R119. The average cost of an NYC apartment is about a million dollars. So these people talking about anywhere between a few hundred thousand and up to 4 million aren't exactly rolling in dough. These are not high amounts.

Yeah, no expense was spared!

Sure, R122, but that's not what R116 said.

If they meant that a couple million is modest, that's one discussion. Saying no one has mentioned millions at all, that's a whole different thing.

Only in the bubble of a few cities in the world, is "a couple million" inheritance "modest".

Thank you R133 that was kind of you to say nice things about being modest of means. On the plus side, I don't have debt, anymore. :)

I was just voicing my feeling since it seemed to me so many people were blathering on about their 2 million here and their shopping malls and housing developments there without any "feeling statements".

Just voicing the position of those of us who are pretty much on our own till death. Or amazing surprising out of the blue inheritances from unknown second cousins... :) :)

People do realise the "average net worth" of an American is perhaps a few hundred thousand, so talking about several million as a "modest" sum is very peculiar was or looking at a social discussion about money.

way of looking

Poor dl queens so bitter and jealous

I am poor so I envy you lot. I just lost my job, rent increase coming and estranged from family because they don't like who I am. I will get nothing from nobody.

I have read a few rich people in nyc left nice gifts over 10k cash to their help, people who do their nails, their assistants, bartenders etc. Very nice of them.

I got pretty much nothing.

Honestly I think wives and girlfriends do deserve something. After all they put up with the old geezers, you didn't.

R119; I am the one who 'lives well in Europe' and had the horrendous lawsuit. I am a retired expat and live deep in the French countryside. It's not Monaco, would not suit everyone, and is probably more affordable than living in a half-way decent place in the US.

R117:

My great grandfather left a large estate in the 1950's. His daughter, widowed daughter in law (my grandmother) and my father (his only grandchild) shared the interest and dividends while they lived; when my dad died last year, the principal was split between my brother and me. It had nothing to do with any of my parents' savings. My dad's will rolled everything over to my mother alone - not a nickel of bequests to anyone else, although my mom is generous to our relatives who deserve it.

I'll be honest and say that since I knew this money was coming. I didn't do any retirement planning of my own.

When I was young in the 80s and 90's, it was one AIDS trauma after another. I was cynical, scrambling, and figured, though negative, we were all "doomed" somehow. Hideous sickness, suffering, and death, combined with grinding poverty, chewed up and destroyed my loved ones. Not to mention every spare cent I had i chucked into helping people die Rinse, repeat. Modest salaries, career changes, gentrification and being priced out of one neighbourhood after another. Never having the lump sums to buy. etc. etc. etc. Yeah, it's bad organisation and irresponsible. Am I the only professional who didn't manage the retirement scheme well? It's not going to be cat food but it's not a nice apartment in Menton France after early retirement in my 50s. That's for sure.

Question: I don't think my parents have a will. If they die, will the money and whatever properties they own just be split 50/50 or will my brother stand to get more because he has 4 kids and I have none? I know it's morbid and greedy sounding but I can picture my brother and his brood suggesting that it not be 50/50 because they have children.

Good news, R133....if one of your parents dies intestate, the estate passes to the surviving spouse. If the surviving spouse dies intestate, the estate is divided equally between the children.

Yes,my dad left me 300 k,and I bought a 4 plex with it,and I will have the family house once my mother goes(wich is worth MAYBE 100k now) and possibly whatever money she hasn't squandered . I have to share the money with 2 brothers,but the house will be mine because I live with and take care of her old ass. I earned it,believe you me. But when the dust settles,I will have my building and maybe 100 k ,and that is the sum total of my retirement. No fancy cars or trips or clothes for this queen,and had dad not been a lazy asshole and changed his will,I wouldn't have the apt building either. I never saved a plug nickel,or planned for retirement,so I count my blessings every day. I will say that Im not leaving whatever I have left to any of my shitty family when I go.

I got $200,000 in 2010. I put it into mutual funds. It's doubled, maybe, since then. I had savings, so it's very nice. The cherry on top of the spaghetti pile.

I'd add that I miss my folks every day, or thereabouts.

What r75 said

Bitter bitch at R135: Is the house specifically and legally left to you or are you just hoping? ....Why do you assume you're sharing the money but not the house with your brothers?

I think it 's great that so many of you have or will receive lots of money upon the death of your family members. Without heirs, will your tombstone be your legacy?

Since I have two heterosexual brothers, I'm planning on being a worldly, generous lesbo aunt. When I go grey, I may even call myself, "Mame."

R136

When those mutual funds are worth $25k when the market crashes, I promise not to laugh.

Buy rental houses with the money, and get OUT of the broader market.

[quote]When those mutual funds are worth $25k when the market crashes, I promise not to laugh.

Moron, the market isn't going to "crash" to that extent. And when the market has "crashed" in the past, it has always come roaring back. I didn't pull a dime out of the market in 2000 or 2001 or 2007 or any of the other times the market suffered a downturn. And yet, I'm averaging an 8% return on my investment over the past quarter century.

[quote]Buy rental houses with the money, and get OUT of the broader market.

Sigh... Sure, if you're a moron. This has to the be the resident ILT. How are those gold investments working out for you, moron?

Back on topic, the answer in my case is that I honestly don't know. I separated myself from my family a couple decades ago and I'll be surprised if I'm mentioned in the will. Given how careful my parents were with money and how much they invested, I would not be surprised to find them leaving an estate worth a few million. One of the more expensive decisions I've ever made, if things go as I expect, and I don't regret it for even a second.

Its in the will,R139. Im not bitter,honestly,but I do pretty much detest most of my relatives. And if you knew them you would too.

This is morbid to think about.

don't expect too much people. Also, if your parents want anything left to you, make sure you tell them to put it in the will. Even then, don't expect their surviving spouse to give it to you. My own mother, yes my bio mom, stole what was mine...she was the executor of the will, she took everything, gave some to her fav kid (not me) and her other kids (from a previous marriage).

Needless to say, I am not in contact with her and don't give a shit about her. She couldn't wait for my father to die, elder abused him on his deathbed...

[quote]This is morbid to think about.

Which is why we stopped thinking about it five years ago, Bump Bitch.

Both my parents remarried much younger loons out of vanity and lust, so most likely nothing. Also they’ll probably outlive me.