Last week, I talked about top tips for planning your estate. This week, it’s top tips for managing an inheritance:
- Don’t spend it all. Sit down with a financial planner before you decide what you are going to do with it. Your relative took a long time earning that money; don’t spend it in six months.
- Don’t be jealous. Your parents may have left uneven amounts to each child, but that is not necessarily your siblings’ fault.
- Talk to professionals. See a financial planner, lawyer, accountant, etc. so that you don’t lose unnecessary funds through poor planning.
- Don’t stop working. Unless you have inherited enough for 50+ years of income, don’t give up your other income sources until you have at least talked to professional advisors.
- Don’t give it away out of guilt. If you are the sibling who received more, you don’t have to share with the others. If you choose to, after careful thought and planning, that’s great, but don’t feel you have to.
As with doing a will, careful planning can make all the difference.
