A recent blog from the SMA Institute about leaving family estates to charity rather than children, received astonishing debate. Extreme responses ranged from brutish, by those feeling entitled to inheritance because of simply being born—to those who believed giving children anything they didn’t earn, was damaging.
The article, “Entire Estates to Charity,” provided options for high net worth families to leave family money to charity. Because, knowledge capital and relationship capital that children acquire at home, is enough for them to create their own healthy financial lives without inheritance.
Less fortunate children not routinely reared with financial awareness need to learn later on in life. Ergo donating family wealth to institutions that educate and provide children of lesser means an opportunity to be exposed to the same training as rich ‘kids’. Balancing social and economic responsibility for all.
This also gives every child the message that people will not bail you out of poor decisions or laziness. The hardest job for any parent is to let children fail but failure is the natural path to achievement. Thomas Edison made 1000 attempts at inventing the light bulb. Finally, he succeeded. Saints and scholars, ain’t we all!
Not only will gifting help less fortunate children, it will help all children from entitlement blow back that is deteriorating the fabric of capitalism. Showering kids with niceties is fine but once adults, they must know it’s up to them to earn their own way. Anything less keeps them from reaching full potential.
However, those who have not learned lessons by provenance, because of exclusionary demographics, need to get a leg up on adulthood competition. Therefore, estates left to appropriate organizations can teach financial literacy and fund college educations, to even out the social equation.
Nobody would give an adult money without something in return. Giving children inheritances is not much different. Independence, rooted to the word individual, must be developed. Otherwise we increase societal entitlements. First lesson for children—own all your choices once you are an adult.
A woman’s daughter asked to be bailed out of debt after four years of marriage. She told her. “Rescuing you would be a blow to your husbands’ masculinity and you would lose respect for him as the provider and your marriage could fail.” We say, touché. Forcing them to work through crisis brings them closer.
Resistance to this came from materialized children angry the spicket would be shut off. Not to be sardonic but with increased pathocracy, sociopathology, and borderline personality disorders in modern society, there is a substantial increase in false entitlement and a chronic need to blame others.
Leaving your adult children to solve their own issues hurts but it’s the best option. Otherwise dependency is never-ending and eventually divides families. Teaching them to make their own money as children solves problems. Leaving inheritances to children who think they don’t need to make it on their own, is harmful.
In a rapidly changing world, fueled by uncertainties and fierce competition, all children need to take full responsibility as adults. Years of research by SMA Institute has shone millionaires are made not born. Anyone can succeed and financial literacy is that first step, in a better world for all the children.
