Florida individuals who would like to provide their children with an inheritance have several methods to consider. With estate planning, they can make their wishes well known. In some situations, parents may wish to provide inheritances of different amounts to their children. In this situation, it is best for them to create their estate plan early in the process and explain the disparity to their children.
One reason that children may be provided with different amounts of an inheritance is that one of the children is healthy while another is disabled. The parents may feel that the healthy child is better able to take care of himself or herself and will be empathetic to the disabled one. Additionally, providing care for a disabled child, even an adult child, can be quite expensive. Sometimes, parents may provide a larger inheritance to the healthy child to be used for the disabled child. However, a trust that provides clear instructions may work better in this situation than an inheritance with no legal strings attached.
Another reason that a parent may leave a different amount of inheritance to his or her children is because of unpaid loans. Rather than waiting for repayment, the parent may simply write off the loan and deduct the amount from that child’s inheritance. Parents may also wish to provide inheritances of different amounts when their children have different levels of income. They may provide a larger inheritance to children who are not as financially secure.
Individuals who would like to provide a different inheritance amount to their children may discuss their plans with an attorney who has experience in estate planning. The attorney may be able to offer suggestions to make this appear more fair to their children, such as providing lifetime gifts so the inheritance amount is equal.
Source: WCSH , “For best results, start estate planning early”, Kacie Yearout, May 09, 2014