One of the financial goals a person may have is to provide financial help to their adult children. Giving such support is something many parents do these days. In a recent survey done by the BMO Wealth Institute, over four-fifths of surveyed parents (81 percent) said they have given some sort of financial help to their adult children.
There are many different types of financial help parents could provide to their adult children. Also, there are a variety of different ways such help could be provided. One is through a parent's estate plan. In an estate plan, a parent can include devices aimed at giving financial support, both during their lifetime and after death, to their adult children, such as trusts that have their adult children as beneficiaries.
Another thing the above-mentioned survey underscores is that parents differ in how big of a priority they put on the goal of giving financial support to their adult children as compared to other financial goals. In the survey, less than half of the respondents said they would prioritize helping their adult children financially over their own financial well-being. There are many different goals giving financial support to one's adult children could potentially interfere with, including retirement goals and estate planning goals.
When it comes to any goal one might hope to achieve in their estate plan, such as the goal of providing financial help to adult children, it is important for a person to think where that goal falls on the priority list compared to the other estate planning goals they have and to keep this in mind when determining how to incorporate this goal into their estate plan. Skilled estate planning attorneys work hard to understand their clients' estate planning priorities and can provide guidance on making an estate plan that best reflects one's wishes and goals.
Source: Financial Advisor, "Study: Most Parents Won't Sacrifice Financial Well-Being For Adult Children," Christopher Robbins, Dec. 23, 2015