A new study finds that family members tend to discuss different financial topics with different relatives.
According to research by Ameriprise Financial, adult children are most likely to initiate conversations with their parents about:
- managing current finances (74%);
- the cost of health care (73%); and
- long-term financial goals (70%).
When parents take the lead in financial discussions with their adult children, they also bring up managing debt (73%).
Estate of Mind?
In general, survey respondents report they are less likely to talk to their family members about estate planning and inheritance, but it’s still a popular topic: 67% talked to their parents about it, and 69% talked to their adult children about it.
The No. 1 reason why adult children haven’t talked with their parents about the topic: They “don’t believe it’s their place to raise the issue.” Parents, meanwhile, don’t bring up the subject because “they haven’t thought about it” (25%) or “don’t feel it’s appropriate” (19%).
Additionally, 9 out of 10 adult children who have discussed estate planning say a “life altering incident” triggered the talk with their parents. The study suggests that advisors can help initiate these conversations ahead of those emergencies.
Leave Behinds
Most survey participants (83%) want to leave money or assets to a loved one; however, only 64% feel they are on track or prepared to leave an inheritance, and even fewer (50%) have a formal plan in place. Only 21% of parents who are planning to leave something to their children have told them how much inheritance they will receive.
Little surprise then that the majority of respondents (53%) expected to receive more than $100,000. In fact, the majority (52%) of those who have received an inheritance got less than $100,000, an amount that only matched the expectations of 28% of those surveyed. Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents think an inheritance will cause tension or disagreements with family members — a sentiment that rings true for a quarter of individuals who have received money following the loss of a loved one.
The Family Wealth Checkup study was created by Ameriprise Financial, Inc. and conducted online by Artemis Strategy Group Nov. 23-Dec. 15, 2016 among 2,700 U.S. adults between the ages of 25-70 with at least $25,000 in investable assets.
