Should You Leave an Inheritance for Your Children?

During my earning years, I tried to pay for as much as I could so that by the time I retired, the money I had would be mine to do with what I wanted. I’ve always felt it was my job to raise my children in a way that enabled them to no longer need me. If I did that well, the money I built for myself would be mine to spend living the life I want to live. I’m quite adventurous. I love to travel and do things that I probably wouldn’t have done when I had children to be responsible for. I’ve been up in a hot air balloon, been in a sailplane, swum with stingrays. When I was in South Africa last year I went on a shark dive in a steel cage. I’m in my mid-60s, and I’m living life to the fullest. It’s all about quality of life. If you can have the quality of life you want, and there’s money left over to leave the kids, that’s wonderful. But if you can’t have it because you’re leaving money to the kids, I don’t think that’s fair.