You’re looking to create an estate plan, and you already have an idea of where you want your assets to go. The problem is that one of your heirs is fairly irresponsible with their money, so you’re wondering what you can do to prevent them from wasting their inheritance.
This is a common issue that people face, so there are solutions. Let’s consider a few below.
Put the money in a trust
First of all, you could simply put the money in a trust so that your heir doesn’t control how it is used. This trust could be created with a singular reason in mind, such as paying for college tuition, or it could just give someone else discretionary power to make choices for your heir.
Make them wait until they’re older
One option that you can consider, perhaps by using a trust, is to keep the money from going to your heir until they’re older. Maybe this person is irresponsible because they’re still in their early twenties and their brain hasn’t even fully developed yet. You could create a trust that says they get an inheritance, but they can’t take any of the money out of the trust until they turn 30.
Disinherit them entirely
Finally, just remember that you’re not obligated to give your assets to anyone. Your heir may expect that you’re going to do so, but you always have the option to disinherit them. One of the easiest ways to do this is simply by putting a disinheritance clause in your estate plan so that it’s very clear that you intentionally left this person out of that plan.
No matter what option you decide to use, you have to know exactly what legal steps to take.