You already know the obvious— that you shouldn’t count on any inheritance given the uncertainties surrounding financial markets, life expectancies, and end-of-life care.
Have you checked with him & your mother as to whether they have wills, end-of-life directives, POAs and other estate-related plans in place? And where you (as an heir) and the executor can find all the related paper work? That may lead to a more detailed discussion of their assets. If not, then at least you’ll be more prepared when the first spouse dies.
As to how much stock (no pun intended) you should put into your father’s estimate of $50,000/year in income, you also should give that some consideration. My personal experience is that sometimes very elderly people have a skewed perspective on how much a lump sum money means in terms of income and/or financial security. My mother worried too much about “running out of money” even though she would have been OK financially until age 120 even if she never earned another dime in interest, dividends, or capital gains. She died at 94. Other people think $100,000 is life-changing amount, because they have no perception of how affluent their children are.
Have you checked with him & your mother as to whether they have wills, end-of-life directives, POAs and other estate-related plans in place? And where you (as an heir) and the executor can find all the related paper work? That may lead to a more detailed discussion of their assets. If not, then at least you’ll be more prepared when the first spouse dies.
As to how much stock (no pun intended) you should put into your father’s estimate of $50,000/year in income, you also should give that some consideration. My personal experience is that sometimes very elderly people have a skewed perspective on how much a lump sum money means in terms of income and/or financial security. My mother worried too much about “running out of money” even though she would have been OK financially until age 120 even if she never earned another dime in interest, dividends, or capital gains. She died at 94. Other people think $100,000 is life-changing amount, because they have no perception of how affluent their children are.
Statistics: Posted by delamer — Fri Jul 12, 2024 10:17 am — Replies 7 — Views 981