Half of all people who win the lottery are broke within just a few years. 

For a lot of people, inheriting a lot of money is a bit like winning the lottery. 

Regrettably, for some, the old adage “Easy come - Easy go” is all too real.  This doesn’t make them “Bad People” it just makes them “Bad at Money Management”. 

Even “Financially Sensible” people can go off the rails and become “Financially Delinquent”.  Especially if they start mixing with the wrong people or come under the wrong influence. 

“Bad Money Management” or “Financial Delinquency” and children/grandchildren squandering their inheritance is a common problem.  With proper estate planning you can ensure this issue does not arise with your children and grandchildren.

 

Example - Sensible Daughter Loses Her Inheritance because of Boyfriend's Bad Influence 

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Andrew left his estate of £600,000 to his daughter Julie. 

When she inherited this sum, Julie found that many acquaintances became good friends.  They invited her out for many meals, but expected her to pay for them! 

Some of these new-found friends introduced Julie to the pleasures of non-prescription drugs.  She resisted at first, but they insisted that it was now quite normal and everybody did it.  They also said it would help her feel better as she mourned the loss of her father.  So she tried it out and it became quite a regular habit. 

In no time at all Julie found that she had spent most of her inheritance.  She also found that her new friends had either disappeared or just become acquaintances again. 

With careful planning Andrew could have ring-fenced and protected the inheritance he passed on to Julie so that it couldn’t have been squandered.  If he had done this she would still have had access to her inheritance, but would have had infinitely more security.  Her “friends” couldn’t have influenced her to squander the money and this tragedy would not have happened.