Many members of the next generation are banking on a sizable inheritance as part of an unprecedented intergenerational wealth transfer occurring in the United States right now. However, research shows a growing disconnect between how much children expect to receive and how much their parents plan on leaving them.
You generally have no right to be included in your parents’ estate plan and usually cannot challenge their will or trust in court just because you think it was unfair. However, if you believe something nefarious happened, such as somebody taking advantage of a parent and convincing them to change their estate plan, you should speak up.
The Great Wealth Transfer and Resetting Inheritance Expectations
Tens of trillions of dollars are expected to pass from older Americans to younger Americans over the next two decades in what financial experts are calling “The Great Wealth Transfer.”
According to consulting firm Cerulli Associates, $84 trillion in assets (accounts and property) is set to change hands through 2045.[1] The primary recipients will be Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers, who could inherit around $72 trillion through 2045, with the rest going to charity.[2]
Other estimates put this transfer of wealth at upwards of $140 trillion, “marking one of the most significant wealth transfers in history,” says philanthropic organization CFAAC.[3]
However, CFAAC cautions that adult children may not receive as much as they expect because their parents are living longer, spending more of their money in retirement, and may have high healthcare costs that eat into their savings.[4]
More than half of millennials say they expect to inherit approximately $350,000 or more from their aging parents.[5] But baby boomers say they plan to leave far less than that to their kids.[6] One survey found that many do not plan to leave behind any money.[7] In another study, just 26 percent of Americans, including 22 percent of baby boomers, said they expect to leave an inheritance.[8]
Part of this disconnect is that parents are not communicating with their family about their inheritances—or lack thereof. Research from Edward Jones indicates that more than a third of Americans do not plan to discuss wealth transfers with their family.[9]
Federal Reserve data shows that the probability of inheriting from anyone, at any age, is just 7.4 percent. The chance of inheriting from a parent is even lower—just 4.6 percent.[10]
Dealing with the Disappointment of Disinheritance
You learned that you were left out of your parents’ estate plan. Now what?
Know Your Rights
In most cases, adult children are not entitled to inherit their parents’ money and property under the terms of their parents’ estate plan. You may, however, have the right to receive a copy of their will if they have one. If they used a trust to manage their assets, it may be more difficult for you to get a copy if you were not a named trust beneficiary.
● If the will or trust contains language that clearly, directly, or explicitly disinherits you, you may not be able to contest it, absent some additional factors.
● If the will or trust contains no such language, the court might presume that you were inadvertently left out and allow you to contest it.
You might also be able to dispute a parent’s will or trust in the following situations:
● You suspect that they were not of sound mind when drafting their will or trust.
● You have reason to believe they made their will or trust under duress or undue influence.
● A factual error resulted in you being left out of the will or trust. For example, a parent disinherited you under the erroneous belief that you were abusing drugs or alcohol and you can prove that you were or are sober.
Ask Questions
Before seriously considering a will or trust contest—which could be a long, expensive, and ultimately fruitless undertaking—it may be worth asking a few questions to put things into perspective:
● Did your parents discuss their estate plan with you?
○ If they said you were going to receive something and you did not, this could be an issue.
○ They may have prioritized giving gifts while living and considered those gifts to be your inheritance, such as helping you with a big purchase like a home or taking you on a vacation.
○ They might have said that they were disinheriting you or leaving you nothing, in which case the outcome is predictable and not necessarily a cause for alarm.
● Did they stay quiet about inheritance issues?
○ Some parents find it uncomfortable to discuss inheritance and wealth transfer matters with their children, and many avoid the subject altogether.
○ If you do not know what their wishes were, it may be harder to argue that you were supposed to receive something.
● What was their financial and health situation?
○ Longevity and lifestyle changes are altering inheritance plans. People are living longer today than in previous generations and often spend much of their wealth during these additional years of life. Health-related and long-term care expenses can deplete a lifetime of savings and leave little or no money for inheritance.
○ If your parents lived an active lifestyle with lots of travel, entertainment, dining out, and the purchase of big-ticket items, they may have spent your would-be inheritance on themselves.
○ If they were in poor health at the end of their life, they may have had to spend down their savings to qualify for Medicaid to cover long-term care.
● Did someone else receive the money?
○ Assuming your parents died owning a decent amount of wealth, and depending on who ended up inheriting from them, finding answers to questions about your disinheritance can become more complicated.
○ Money left to a sibling or another family member who was in greater financial need than you could explain why you were omitted.
○ Money left to a charity might explain your omission if the cause was near and dear to them for many years.
Red Flags
Try to get a copy of your parents’ will or trust so you can find out who inherited from them and whether there were any recent changes to their estate plan. This information could raise red flags that warrant further investigation. For example:
● They left the money to a charity, religious organization, or other group with which they only recently became involved.
● They left everything, or at least a considerable amount, to a caregiver you do not know well and who does not have a history with the family.
● A parent was in poor health and could have been easily exploited by a caregiver or somebody else who convinced them to change their will or trust at the end of their life.
● There was a recent change to the estate plan—in particular a change that is difficult to explain.
You may not need to request a copy of a will from a family member if the estate was subject to probate. Probated wills become public court records that anyone can view in their entirety. The public records in a probate matter also contain information about what assets were part of the estate and who the beneficiaries are. You should be able to see who inherited what and how much they inherited. The records also identify the executor of the estate, who may be able to provide further insights.
Discuss Your Disinheritance with an Estate Planning Attorney
Not receiving an inheritance is surprisingly more common than one might think. If you were left out of a parent’s estate plan, you might feel shocked, angry, and confused, particularly if they never mentioned that you would be disinherited.
Hurt feelings are probably not enough to challenge a parent’s estate plan. Unless something illegal occurred in the preparation or signing of their will or trust, you may have to accept their decision, as difficult as that might be.
That does not mean you should not ask questions and take the next steps in response to any red flags. To discuss your disinheritance rights and options, schedule a meeting with an estate planning attorney.
[1] Cerulli Anticipates $84 Trillion in Wealth Transfers through 2045, Cerulli Associates (Jan. 20, 2022), https://www.cerulli.com/press-releases/cerulli-anticipates-84-trillion-in-wealth-transfers-through-2045.
[2] Id.
[3] The Great Wealth Transfer: Millennials Be Prepared, CFAAC (Mar. 22, 2024), https://www.cfaac.org/news/great-wealth-transfer-millennials-be-prepared.
[4] Id.
[5] Jessica Dickler, The Great Wealth Transfer Has Started—But Millennials, Gen Z May Not Inherit As Much As They Anticipate, NBC News (May 7, 2024), https://www.nbcnews.com/business/personal-finance/great-wealth-transfer-started-millennials-gen-z-may-not-inherit-much-a-rcna151062.
[6] Id.
[7] Angela Mae, Great Wealth Transfer? See How Much Money Boomers Actually Plan to Pass Down, Nasdaq.com (Aug. 16, 2024), https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/great-wealth-transfer-see-how-much-money-boomers-actually-plan-pass-down.
[8] Nw. Mut., As $90 Trillion "Great Wealth Transfer" Approaches, Just 1 in 4 Americans Expect to Leave an Inheritance, PR Newswire (Aug. 6, 2024), https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/as-90-trillion-great-wealth-transfer-approaches-just-1-in-4-americans-expect-to-leave-an-inheritance-302211305.html.
[9] The Great Wealth Transfer Starts with the Great Wealth Talk, Edward Jones Research Finds, Edward Jones (Feb. 27, 2024), https://www.edwardjones.com/us-en/why-edward-jones/news-media/press-releases/great-wealth-transfer-research.
[10] Inheritances by Age and Income Group, Penn Wharton (July 16, 2021), https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2021/7/16/inheritances-by-age-and-income-group.
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