Giving While Living
“Some people are giving everything away before they die. They want to see how it turns out.”
You used to have to wait for a loved one to die before you found out how much you were going to inherit if you were going to inherit at all. That’s no longer the case. Now, if you’re among the lucky minority of Americans who have received an inheritance or expect one, you’re increasingly likely to get at least some of it while your relatives are still alive.
“Giving while living” is becoming popular as more Americans decide to spread their money around while they’re still here to see its impact. They’re giving to children, grandchildren and others. They’re paying for college educations and providing down payments for houses. They’re setting up trusts and paying for vacations. To keep families working together and to support favorite causes, more Americans are setting up private foundations and hiring their children to run them or serve on the boards. The number of independent foundations has jumped 77% in the past 10 years to 63,059. Nine out of 10 of them are family foundations.
According to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll of 1,012 people taken this month, 22% have received what they regard as a large gift of money from relatives who were still alive. Paying for education is one way that older generations are helping younger ones. In a 2006 survey of 828 people who had grandchildren under age 21, 55% said they contribute in some way to their grandchildren’s education. Fewer than one-quarter of Americans ever inherit money, according to an AARP study, and most of it goes to the wealthiest people — those with net assets exceeding $450,000.
