Money Insights
Will your Baby Boomer mamas and papas leave you the dough? Maybe, maybe not.
The ranks of Houston's millionaires is going to grow nearly 20 percent in thenext five years.GoodNewsEveryday
But Baby Boomer millionaires plan to keep much of their wealth away from theirkids.Culpwrit.com
Within the next five years, the number of millionaire households in the nation is expected to grow more than 18 percent as wealth is transferred from the Baby Boomer generation. But being a millionaire's kid no longer guarantees a cash windfall.
According to the U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth's new annual study, only 55 percent of Baby Boomers now think it is important to leave a financial inheritance to their children.
Of the millionaires surveyed, only 32 percent are confident their children will be prepared emotionally and financially to receive a financial legacy.
U.S. Trust commissioned an independent, national survey of 642 high net worth adults with at least $3 million in investable assets. The study, released on Monday, includes findings on a number of subjects such as elder care, estate planning, growing and preserving wealth and thoughts about charitable giving.
Of the Baby Boomer millionaires surveyed, only 32 percent are confident their children will be prepared emotionally and financially to receive a financial legacy, while 31 percent don't think it is important to leave a financial inheritance and said they would rather leave money to charity than to their children.
According to the survey, the top reason for not wanting to leave an inheritance is the belief that each generation should earn its own wealth (57 percent). Following closely behind that, 54 percent believe it is more important to invest in children’s success while they are growing up.
Additional key findings included:
- Only 37 percent of wealthy parents have fully disclosed their family's level of wealth to their children.
- Among those who have not fully disclosed their wealth, older respondents over the age of 67 said the primary reason was because they were taught never to discuss wealth with anyone.
- Baby Boomers, Generation X and Y are aligned in being more comfortable talking about wealth, but most either haven't gotten around to it or are concerned that it will negatively affect their children's work ethic.
"Our survey points to a shift in generational behavior and outlook, most likely shaped by personal experience and societal responses to economic realities," Keith Banks, U.S. Trusts president, said in a press release.
