When a person receives an unexpected inheritance there are estate planning steps that they need to take. There are about a third of Americans that will receive an inheritance within their lifetime and the average beneficiary will lose half of it through bad spending decisions. A person receiving an inheritance should get the assistance of a “financial advisor, a tax professional and an estate-planning attorney.” It is important for a person to be able to factor in their individual lifestyle and circumstances to plan how they are going to spend their inheritance. People should calculate how they are going to make their nest egg last and plan what type of things they might enjoy spending the assets on.
See Judy Martel, Planning for Inheritance: 4 Ways To Handle A Windfall, Forbes, November 6, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
