Tis the season of giving in California and asking the perennial question of what gifts to get one’s family for the holidays. As the baby boomer generation enters their 60s and 70s, they are seeing their own children become adults. Baby boomers have begun to share their wealth with their children and grandchildren. In so doing, they are concerned that the Millennial and GenX generations are not focused on estate planning.
This concern has inspired the idea of gifting an estate plan by offering to pay to have one created. The younger generation may not be as concerned with the future of their finances as they are with the present concerns regarding student debt, growing families and so on. There are steps that parents can take to broach the subject with their adult children and to steer them in the right direction.
One of the best times to initiate the subject of an estate plan is when one’s children have children of their own and concerns for the future become more immediate. An estate plan can be a perfect gift for a new family. But once the gift is given, the family needs to recognize the children’s right to establish a plan as they see fit and to acknowledge that the plan itself is confidential.
A trusted advisor in California can be very helpful when it comes to the gift of estate planning. An experienced attorney can review a young family’s situation and guide them to creating an estate plan that will meet their current needs and that also looks to the future. A safe and secure future is the best gift anyone can hope to bestow on loved ones.
