There are many different ways a person may want to help a friend or relative who is going through a tough time. One is to give them money to help with things such as everyday expenses. A recent survey underscores how common financial help from friends and relatives is here in the United States.
The survey was of 7,845 individuals and was performed in the later part of 2014. The survey responses indicated that around a fourth of Americans, in the previous year, got monetary help from someone they didn't live with when it came to day-to-day expenses.
The survey found that households that had undergone a material financial hardship were particularly likely to receive such help. It also found that the age group most likely to give such help were individuals born in the period between the mid-1920s and the early 1940s (this age group is sometimes referred to as the Silent Generation).
When it comes to giving family and friends financial help during one's lifetime, it can be vital for an individual to properly balance this goal with their other goals, or else they could run the risk of their giving putting their own financial state or things like their retirement at risk.
A person can not only give financial help for hard times to family members and friends during their lifetime. They could also do so after death, such as through gifts in a will or setting up a trust that instructs the trustee to use trust funds to help friends/family members when certain financial troubles strike. As is the case with financial help during one's lifetime, when setting up a plan for providing monetary help to friends/family after death, it can be important to not forget to take into account how the plans could impact one's other goals. As skilled estate planning lawyers understand, finding the right balance between the different goals one has can be key when estate planning.
Source: Detroit Free Press, "Ever give $500 to bail out a relative? You're not alone," Susan Tompor, March 2, 2016