Inheritance Entitlement

By Nola Redd

Two articles published in USA Today several months ago have inspired me to think a great deal about death and inheritances.The first article noted the generosity of Howard Hughes in donating the majority of his estate to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation after his death. It went on to discuss the growing trend of the rich to leave much of their estate to charity, rather than pass it on to their children. Most of the children in the article - possibly all of them - discussed the trend in a positive manner; I don’t recall anyone other than the author bemoaning their loss. The second article focused on one family, whose patriarch was dying of cancer and using most of his savings on medical bills. Although his children repeatedly stated that they would rather have hope for their father than an inheritance (one significantly smaller than the Hughes children would someday receive), the father worried about what he would leave to his children.

I found the tone of both articles disturbing. The implication was that parents should build up their fortunes primarily for their children. The entitlement factor that pervades America has now become funeral fodder. I wonder about the interviews you would never get - the decision to put an elderly parent in a state-funded home to preserve the inheritance for their grown children. I wonder why we are beginning to believe that we are entitled to something that someone else has worked hard for. If I were to visit Mr. Hughes and inform him that I deserve his money simply because I am alive, he and most of the rest of the nation would laugh at my daring and dismiss me. Why, then, is it deemed acceptable for us to believe we are entitled to what our parents have worked for?

(more…)

Share This

Why Understanding Your “Financial Personality” Is Important In The Financial Planning Process

By Hugh Massie

For many of us, the topic of money is a powerful trigger of positive and negative emotions that can get in the way of making optimal personal finance and wealth-creation decisions. The confusion and stress can even block us from seeing our real financial needs and goals. Further, many of us are stuck with a lot of misconceptions from society, the financial planning industry, the education system and our families about successfully creating wealth.

We are all uniquely wired to make financial decisions. Life is not linear. How we each get to our goals will vary because our financial personalities are unique. What works for someone else might not be right for you.

(more…)

Share This

How To Start The Envelope System At Home

By Kevin Farrar

The use of checks, credit cards and debit cards has proved a convenient way to purchase. In addition to that if we have our paycheck set up on direct deposit it is possible to live for months without touching cash. One of the problems with cash-less living is that unless we are extremely disciplined we expand the boundaries of our spending. In fact it causes many people to spend well beyond what they can afford.

It has been estimated that we will overspend by 15% or more when we don’t use cash to pay for purchases. Just imagine what you could do with 15% of your annual household income. Wouldn’t it be worth trying something different just to find out if it works?

(more…)

Share This

We have just opened up for public submissions additions to our *NEW* and *FREE* Directory Listing … sponsored by our newest addition to the HART-Empire Network … 62-151 Media Group.

All submissions are manually accepted and approved by a human being [by me .. HART (1-800-HART)], to avoid spam and splogs from appearing in the list.

(more…)

Share This

Five Reasons Why Being Financially Free Will Benefit You and How to Achieve Financial Freedom

By David Brown and Paula Brown

In this exciting article today you will learn exactly why having a financially free life will be amazing!

Are you always chasing your tail in a financial way?

Are you working for someone else in a job that will never bring you financial freedom?

(more…)

Share This

An Estate Planning Primer

By Bill Willard

An estate plan can be designed by clients and their professional advisors to achieve the client’s personal and financial objectives. Or, it can be an arrangement imposed upon survivors by state intestate succession laws if someone dies with¬out a valid, up-to-date will. Even though a will is the most basic estate plan¬ning tool, two out of three Americans die without one.

A comprehensive estate plan can arrange the ownership, management and distri¬bution of your assets in ways that meet your needs and objectives while mini¬mizing estate shrinkage. Without such a plan, whatever you may think is going to happen to your estate after you’re gone probably won’t.

(more…)

Share This