The idea of an inheritance is fairly universal, and most people you ask may say that they expect to get one someday. However, one survey showed that is not the case at all, as most of the people who responded had never gotten one.
In the survey, a mere 22.5 percent of people claimed they had been given an inheritance.
Now, there is one big thing to note here: Some of the people who responded may not have gotten an inheritance yet, but that does not mean they never did or never will. Perhaps they were simply young enough that their parents were still alive. While they technically did not have anything when the survey was given out, they could still get it in the future.
That’s important to note because, as you may expect, parents are the ones handing out inheritances in the vast majority of cases. Here are a few notable people who give inheritances, along with the percentage of cases they represent:
- Parents: 75 percent
- Grandparents: 15 percent
- Aunts and uncles: 6 percent
- Friends: 2 percent
- Siblings: 1 percent
Even among these, not all inheritances are equal. For instance, the average amount of money that people get from their parents tends to be double what they get from their grandparents. This could, of course, be because the grandparents leave most of their money to their own children, which then gets passed on to the next generation at a later date.
No matter where you fit into this, if you are planning to leave an inheritance to your family, be sure you know what legal steps to take and how to draft an estate plan that accomplishes your main goals.
