Financial Support for Adult Children: Navigating the Decision

Estate planning article discusses the dilemma of giving financial help to adult children now or letting them inherit later.

### Balancing Generational Wealth: The Dilemma of Helping Adult Children Now or Later
* 💰  A financial planner's tweet sparked a viral discussion about whether it's better to **help adult children financially now** or **let them inherit the money later**.
* 👵  The tweet scenario involved a healthy 73-year-old with enough money for a comfortable retirement, considering giving to her adult children now or **letting them inherit it later**.
* 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦  The planner's advice emphasized the potential "**trajectory-altering impact**" of a financial gift now, especially for **adult children in their 40s** and a **13-year-old grandchild**.
* 💡  The "messy middle" of financial life, typically late 20s to early 40s, is when many individuals struggle with **limited time and money**, while their parents may have **accumulated significant wealth**.
* 👴🏼👵🏼  There's a balance between enjoying wealth while alive and ensuring it lasts, avoiding being a "**miser**" or **overly generous** to the detriment of financial health.
* 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦  It's crucial to ask two key questions: "**Can I help?**" and "**What's the best way to help?**" considering the recipients' **current life stages and financial needs**.
* 🔮  Helping adult children now can have immediate benefits, but also risks **enabling dependency and hindering their financial independence**.
* 💼  The decision should be made with **careful consideration** of **family dynamics**, **individual circumstances**, and **long-term financial goals**.

[Music], so there was a tweet that went out, and in response to the Tweet, which we'll show you in a second, this article was released. And listen to this headline, okay Boomer, you're hoarding Your Nest Egg, but your kids need financial help now. When I will be honest when I read this headline, I had a visceral response. I was like, yeah, Boomer, what are you doing? But then we read the article, we actually went through the body, and what the article said was very different than the title that was laid out. Well, you see, they acknowledge this came from a viral expost asking whether to give your beneficiaries the money today or let them wait to inherit it, and has drawn more than 10 million views. Very important topic. Now, the rest of the story before we actually get into the subject matter and give the answers, why don't you share with the actual tweet that started this conversation. This is the tweet that led to this article headline, and it said, hey, just wrapped a client meeting. It was a female, 73, and

healthy has two adult kids aged 42 and 47. 13-year-old grandson. plenty of money for her to have a comfortable retirement. The conversation was mostly focused on Estate Planning and encouraging her to feel okay giving money to her adult kids. Now here's what I said to her: Think about life 20 years from now. You're 93 years old, your kids are in their 60s, and your grandson is 33. Then they'll inherit your money. However, at that time, everyone is fairly settled into who they are and what they will become. Now compare that with a gift today. Your kids are at a place in their lives where a financial gift can have a trajectory-altering impact. Consider the Ripple effects of removing a bit of financial stress from the parents of a 13-year-old. I'll help ensure your needs are met for the rest of your life, but if you see an opportunity to help people who matter to you, seize it. I love that, Brian. I think that's incredibly well said. No, you can tell Adam, fellow financial planner, obviously doing good.

work out there trying to help people have these hard life decisions. This is an important one, you know. We spend a lot of content talking about how hard the messy middle is. And for those of you who don't know, the messy middle is when you're typically in your late 20s all the way up to your early 40s where you've got your short on time. You're short on money because let's face it, you've got a marriage, you've got kids, you got job responsibilities. There's a lot going on that makes life really hard. Meanwhile, if you're a parent and maybe you are coming into the later parts, you're no longer working, you're retired, and you starting to analyze and look at your assets and go, man, there is a lot here. Should I help my children and we my adult children make life a little bit easier? I love the way Adam had this conversation in the Tweet. Don't love the headline that it created in the discussion, but we want to kind of jump in and give our own thoughts on how you

navigate this hard decision way yeah. It's not uncommon. A lot of very astute sound financial decision-makers find themselves in a place, and Brian, I'm going to, I'm going to steal one of your lines here. There's a difference in being a miser and being a maximizer, and a lot of financial mutants lose track of that. Well, here's what we really, really love about this tweet. At the end of the day, we really want you to enjoy your money while you're still around. The idea is not for most folks to save up all this money and then when you leave this earth, you leave it to the generations behind you. There is some balance between enjoying the fruits of your labor while you are here but also making sure that you don't enjoy them so much that you run out prematurely. Yeah, I also like that this is a good indicator or an example of being a healthy financial support for your loved ones, not the economic outpatient care that you remember in The Millionaire Next Door when they talk about traits of successful people.

one of the key traits is making sure your adult children aren't so NE to your financial life that they never stand on their own two feet, and they actually become an obligation to you, and they actually hurt your financial life. So, we like to jump in and talk about how do you do this right, because in a lot of ways we want our children, we always love our children, we want them to be the best versions of themselves, but we also want to share our success. So, how do we kind of bring these things together where everybody comes out on the other side in a healthy way. Yeah, we think that when you're thinking through this like how do I help them, what are the right ways to think about this, there are really two questions that you ought to triage right at the very front. On the Forefront of your thinking ought to be these two questions. Number one, can I help? We'll dive into like what that means, how do you assess can I help, and number two, what's the best way to help, because

frankly, there are a number of different ways, and your kids are different people at different stages in your life. It looks very different when your children are 18, versus when your children are 48. By the time your kids get in their 40s, there's likely a chance they've already become the people that they will be. So, you have to triage and assess what is the best way for me to help where they are in their current Journey.

Financial Advisors React to Tweet: Are Boomers Hoarding Nest Eggs?

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Misleading Article Title on Financial Help for Boomers

The article's headline criticizes boomers for hoarding their wealth, but the content actually discusses the impact of giving financial help to beneficiaries early.

The conversation was sparked by a viral post about estate planning for a 73-year-old woman with adult children and a grandson, highlighting the potential impact of giving money to family members sooner rather than later.

A financial planner's perspective on the matter is also shared, emphasizing the positive effects of providing financial support to loved ones.

Navigating the Financial Decision of Supporting Adult Children

The "messy middle" stage, typically in one's late 20s to early 40s, brings about challenges of limited time and money due to various responsibilities.

Many individuals struggle to find a balance between enjoying their wealth and providing financial support to their adult children.

It's important to navigate this decision thoughtfully, aiming to be a healthy financial support system for loved ones without jeopardizing one's own financial security.

Balancing Financial Support for Adult Children

It's important to ensure that adult children don't become a financial burden and are able to stand on their own feet.

When considering how to help them, the key questions to ask are: "Can I help?" and "What's the best way to help?" This approach allows for a balance between supporting their children and promoting their financial independence.

Supporting Your Children at Different Life Stages

Children's needs and stages change significantly as they grow older, requiring different forms of support.

By the time they reach their 40s, they have likely established their identity, making it important to assess how to best offer help.

It is essential to triage and adapt to where your children are in their current journey, whether they are 18 or 48 years old.