Secret Estate Planning May Lead to Family Strife

A recent survey shows that more people are keeping up with updating their wills than keeping their children up to date with their estate planning decisions. The survey covered wealthy investors, and showed that while only 54% have had the inheritance talk with their children, 75% had strong opinions about their children making wise decisions with their inherited wealth. A survey of heirs showed that prior knowledge of the plan increased satisfaction rates and decreased likelihood of inheritance squabbles with family members.

See Liz Moyer, Inheritance is Still a Taboo Subject in Affluent Families, The Wall Street Journal, July 24, 2014.