I’m surprised that our property taxes are relatively low, esp given the quality of the schools and public services. My BIL lives in NJ and yikes!
My dad’s in a suburb of a mid-size Georgia city and his house and lot are about the same size as ours. Property taxes: $1300 (but it’s a higher percentage rate than ours). It’s all a matter of perspective.
That is not our definition. We didn’t work hard all our life to make our kid rich. That’s on him. We’ve provided him with a great education and a clear understanding of how to build his own wealth. He’s an only child, so he knows he’ll get everything that’s left over, but we hope it’s not much. The money we’ve earned is ours to spend, and we plan to spend it.
^^ I absolutely agree with @ChoatieMom . We’re not rich, but we do have a decent-sized estate/retirement fund. If all goes as planned, I hope to have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to pass on the DD and her husband.
We paid for her education and helped her get started. We love her to death and would move mountains for her, but I’m hoping we have no estate to leave!
Our home is valued upper six figures, 2100 sq. ft on 0.4 acres but a bit closer to Seattle than BB. Property taxes of $6500, no state income tax. If we still lived in NY and made our salaries, our state income tax bill would be around $20k and our property tax would be double at least.
I love not having to worry about state income tax. WA is a good state to have higher income. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates agree.
@scout59 and @choatiemom
So there is no thought about about funding any grandkid’s college funds? I’m 10 years away from having any grandkids and that will be one of my goals with spare retirement dollars. I’ll have a good well funded defined benefit pension, 401k/IRA, and whatever SS pays. We will travel and do the snowbird thing, but I don’t foresee us spending everything, just to leave nothing.
Re: #545
Some rich people do not want their descendants to become “lazy heirs”, so they will pay for their descendants’ education, but not leave them big inheritances otherwise. Of course, that still means that their descendants will have substantial advantages in choosing education that best fits them and maximizes their opportunities without having to worry about cost and debt like almost everyone else.
We would be happy to help fund our grandkids’ educations as well, IF any ever materialize (both our kids remain single so far).
@scout59 – reminds me of an old joke I heard: my uncle died the other day and everyone was talking about how sad it was that he died penniless … sounds like perfect timing to me!. 
I cringe whenever I see a “I’m spending my kid’s inheritance” bumper sticker.
Lol, @sherpa. I have seen those on really beat up, cheapo cars. Probably used to cover a large dent or scratch. Tongue in cheek, perhaps? 
Saving for grandkids college is very different from leaving a lump sum inheritance. I hope to one day (when I have grandkids) make contributing to their 529 funds part of my yearly expenses. It will be my pleasure to help with that kind of expense.
I don’t think any adult child should expect or count on an inheritance absent some disability of some type… Make/find your own way.
That being said, I do hope to have some $ left over for my kids and any future grandkids, enough to grease the skids a little. I do think that in the future we’ll be heading into a a jobless economy more and more. Things will change and the opportunities won’t be the same. Some of that assistance we’re providing now in the form of Christmas gifts that fund Roth IRAs.
We hope to be able to pass down inheritances we’ve received to our adult children. That’s the plan
Not one percenters, but a whole lot richer than we’d ever anticipated, and I come from a family that has been in the extremely fortunate and lucky position to rather modestly plan a couple of generations ahead for many generations. I feel obligated to pay it forward to the best of my ability.
some rich people do not want their descendants to become "lazy heirs"
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Bill Gates is planning on leaving each kid only $20 Million, so I see where they will not become lazy … Gee, they might only be able to fly commercial first class instead of daddy’s $40 million Bombardier BD-700 Global Express.
Not wanting the kids to become “lazy heirs” was one of the ideas in The Millionaire Next Door, whether or not it may apply to any particular plutocrat-rich person.
I get the “lazy heir” idea. My S said if we were rich, he would just get a PhD in Math and teach anywhere where there is snow, even high school as long as he get the AP math class.
There is a qualitative difference between a “really really rich heir” and me leaving my kids the house and the remainder of a 401K. Say my entire estate is worth $500K. It is not enough to be lazy, but plenty to make a major dent in future college costs or help them max out their own 401Ks or a down payment on a SF/NYC/Boston house.
I have no need or desire to die rich or broke.
For the vast majority of people, leaving some money for your kids will not make them “lazy heirs” as a) it’s not life changing money/assets; and b) they are already well established in their careers, have a proven work ethic, etc.
I see nothing wrong with leaving my kids (and future grandkids) some money to “help them out” and pay it forward when I am gone.
“I get the “lazy heir” idea. My S said if we were rich, he would just get a PhD in Math and teach anywhere where there is snow, even high school as long as he get the AP math class”
And that’s a bad or lazy thing??
I’ll never be rich enough to make my kids “lazy heirs.” But if there’s something left over after DW and I pass, that’s fine by me. My main goals, though, are to have enough to live reasonably comfortably in retirement, including enough for DW to support herself after I’m gone—and that could be a long time, given that she’s much healthier than I am and her mother and maternal grandmother lived to be 99 and 97 respectively. Implicit in that is the subsidiary goal that we never become a financial burden to our kids, and that we not burden them with needing to be our primary care-givers because we can’t afford to pay for the care we need.
We’ve already set the wheels in motion to contribute to any future grandchildren’s education. We’ll have a little left over in the 529s we set up for our daughters who are both now completing Master’s degrees. We’re continuing to contribute to those accounts in case they ever want to continue their schooling, but we can easily change the beneficiary designations if and when grandchildren enter the picture.
How rich does one have to be to make kids “lazy heirs”?