• 19
  • April
    2011

Despite the fact that most baby boomers consider their children's success to be an indicator of their own success, a recent survey found that more than half of wealthy baby boomers do not think it is important to leave an inheritance for their kids.

The survey was conducted by the US Trust. They asked more than 450 high-net-worth baby boomers about their opinions on their own legacies. A full 51% responded that leaving an inheritance for their children was not a priority.

Florida estate planning attorneys noted the survey results that said 75% of the respondents characterized their wealth as the product of their own hard work and intense focus.

Half of the respondents also characterized themselves as "self-made." They said that they paid high costs in personal relationships and their own health when accumulating their wealth. Some experts characterized the attitude expressed as one in which the boomers said they wanted to get the return on their personal investment for themselves first. The children may or may not benefit - whether they do or not is not that important.

Many of the people surveyed expect to use their wealth to maintain their current lifestyle for twenty or thirty years after retirement.

As one observer put it, this generation is not thinking in the same way as their parents. They do not necessarily plan to just relax in Florida after retirement. More than half who responded to the survey said that they plan to actively volunteer after retirement. The move from working to retirement is more of a new beginning than a time to stop everything.

For the children of baby boomers who were hoping for an inheritance, the survey did not have very good news: 88% of respondents had some form of estate plan in place, by 39% of them acknowledged that it was not comprehensive. Furthermore, 43% do not have a plan that factors in the effects of long-term health care on the family's wealth.

Source: CNBC "Boomer Wealthy Saving Inheritance For Themselves: US Trust" 4/19/2011