When you are old, you are never certain about the funds that you will need. Gifted money is no longer available for unexpected expenses. Medical care can quickly drain accounts.

It's not cheap to get old. I would NOT disperse fund prior to death. I might NEED it for my care.

You can give a limited amount to your kids each year without having to pay an inheritance tax. However, as Roy said, you don't know how long you'll live. If you retire at 65, you can live another 35 years or even more. That's a lot to plan for. And, you don't want to be a burden on your kids. 

Another thought is to help fund your grandkids education.

So, I think every situation is different, if you're in a position to share the wealth then by all means give to your kids and enjoy it. If you're uncertain about how you'll fund your retirement then be a little more cautious. 

There are a lot of articles about how boomers control so much of the wealth. From my experience, both boomers and GenXers have worked hard and sacrificed most of their lives. Like, really hard. They should be able to do what they want with what they've accumulated. 

Richie Alan Naggar your question immediately made me think of the prodigal son. That being said I don't think either of my kids are going to need my meager funds.

Did my daughter give you this idea?   

I've had many buyers receive their inheritance in advance in order to buy their house...I do see this.

You can gift a certain amount of money each year without the recipient being taxed on it.  If you gift more, they have to pay taxes and there are long term questions on how much you really need to live on the rest of your life. With memory care facilities costing as much as they do, you need to budget for this.  However, if your wealth is such that you can gift people early, how wonderful to experience the joy of the recipient and to see how they use it.

We never know how long we have or what we will need while we're still here. Giving away money and then needing it later isn't financially intelligent in my mind. In other words, as long as the offspring are not in an emergency situation, no, I wouldn't give them the money pre-death.

There are  limits on how much can be disbursed tax-free. Trusts might be the answer.

I love the idea of disbursing some wealth to your kids and grandkids while you're still alive to see them enjoy it. 

The legitimate concern, of course, is a fear of outliving your money.  Cautious planning can help avoid running out of money before you run out of time.

It sounds like tax planning and trust administration to me.  With proper legal documents and experts who know what they are doing, there are many ways to distribute wealth to offspring, deserving or not, before death. 

Definitely a hot potato topic. Sadly, many people don't plan ahead, which can create a ton of problems for their estate & the corresponding heirs (and sometimes will involve the probate courts). I agree with you though...why not personally witness your heirs enjoy their inheritance while you are still alive to witness their joy? Ultimately, it comes down to the preferences & dynamics of the parties involved.

I am with Alan May on disbursing funds (very cautiously) to kids and grandkids while you are alive as long as you also have reserves sufficient to not outlive the remainder. 

    Hi Richie Alan Naggar 

    Proceed with caution.  I know people who have made the mistake of gifting money to children or other family members, then they (the Giver) were hit by the IRS for exorbitant gift taxes.  I also know people who have been hit by inheritance taxes... the children inherited more than whatever the allowed dollar amount was; they were forced to sell real estate to pay the taxes owed.

   As others suggested, employ a financial adviser such as a Tax Attorney or a CPA.  Find one that believes in aggressive tax avoidance ("avoidance", which is legal, not "evasion", which is illegal).

       Your Lawyer or CPA can advise you regarding Trusts, Estates, and other legal ways to shelter you and/or your heirs from punitive taxes by the IRS (and possibly State taxes, depending upon where you live).

As Olga Simoncelli mentioned tax consequences are a consideration, the size of their wealth and amount in consideration to gift is certainly a factor and many people worry about what they have worked so hard and long for may not last them until the "end" so not knowing what may be needed and self preservation is a higher priority... and avoiding the possible disappointment and sadness in how the "gift" is used.

Not really real estate related.  i do understand your questions but perhaps you need to sit down with a investment/tax advisor and develop a plan.  What would your goal be in this respect?  Using words like "Assuming,  gratitude, perhaps, and undeserving are all triggers.  

teach or make a change.  again there must be some back story that makes me cringe.  

The greatest gift to impart to the next generation is your knowledge and love.  Of course when they show up with a well researched and thought out business plan it is wise to help them out with some seed money.

Personally, I have made my kids co-owners of income properties where they have a profit incentive to work on the property and increase the value with a big payday when they are sold.

They can be dispersed prior to death - tax-ffree up to $18K per year, per child. We were gifted by family and decided to do the same for our children. It is so very gratifying to be able to watch your children travel and do things that they would have done in later years that we may not have been able to witness.

Some will say that we will need that money for medical care. We feel that the amount we can give is not going to touch any medical bills when it's time to worry about them!

Some will say that we will need that money for our own travel. Well, why not have your children join you in your travels? 

Depends on how much I have, what I expect to need, my age, what can be agreed upon, etc.  Maybe setup a trust for the kids?  If you're just looking to get around the death taxes on the funds, there are ways.

We. Have an only child and have been creating opportunities with funds we have inherited. We want to see her enjoy the money now and learn how to invest it .

I am with Roy Kelley and some other ARers on this. 

People tend to live MUCH  longer and they want to be financially  independent till the end.  

I just had a conversation with a 75 y. o. who believes  to live to 100+y.o. , he feels he needs to be careful with his funds and he is fully financially independent. 

p.s.. the solution to some kind of distribution of assets inside the family and avoiding complication in future is spelling things out in some kind of trust crafted for your individual needs. 

Good thought. It would be a good idea to at least see the money used to their enjoyment. But ... what if that gifting person doesn't like what they do with it?

That would be a gift I think & maybe taxable?

It's a common question I come across in my business. Right now NYC is about 2/3rd's all cash deals- and much of that is via family gifting and even deals that are financed often involve a large family gift. The common theme is that the parents would rather give their adult children a substantial gift now and smaller potential inheritance later- allowing their kids to match their wants or needs now.