July 25, 2025 • 31 mins
Memories Over Money: A New Take on Wealth Transfer – Chris Boyd, Russ Ball and Jeff
Perry dig into a wide variety of issues and conflicts concerning how people plan and spend, or
don’t spend their accumulated wealth. Topics include funding a college education, paying for
long-term care, or simply treating your family with gifting; there are plenty of ways to use your
hard-earned wealth. In the context of a comprehensive financial plan, the trio offers advice and
best practices to ensure your desired legacy and financial priorities are achieved. See below a
related Kiplinger article.
#financialplanning #investing #stocks #bonds #stockmarket #legacy #gifting #goals
#estateplanning
https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/estate-planning/holding-wealth-why-retirees-shouldnt-
focus-on-leaving-an-inheritance
Click the link below to register for our upcoming webinar, “Don’t leave a digital mess.”
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6040334700710880088
For more information or to reach TEAM AMR, click the following link:
https://www.wealthenhancement.com/s/advisor-teams/amr
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to Something More with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner, practitioner,
and senior vice president and financial advisor at
Wealth Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest
registered investment advisors.
We call it Something More because we'd like
to talk not only about those important dollar
and cents issues, but also the quality of
life issues that make the money matters matter.
(00:23):
Here he is, your fulfillment facilitator, your partner
in prosperity, advising clients on Cape Cod and
across the country.
Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.
Welcome, and thanks for joining us for an
episode of Something More with Chris Boyd.
I'm here with Jeff Perry and Russ Ball.
We are all of the AMR team at
(00:44):
Wealth Enhancement.
And just to remind everybody, if you're listening
to us, you can also find us by
video on YouTube, on the Wealth Enhancement Group
page on YouTube, as well as on our
webpage directly.
You can go to somethingmorewithchrisboyd.com, as well
(01:04):
as anywhere you like to listen to podcasts.
So glad you're listening.
Please share it, please rate us, and it
makes a difference for people helping them find
the content we're providing.
And if you think this show would be
of any help to anyone, please share it.
So we're going to talk a little bit
about some of the challenges of trying to
(01:24):
decide, do I spend my retirement money and
try to make the most of the experiences
and share that with my family and so
forth?
Or do I try to preserve wealth and
pass that on as well?
Both valuable considerations, but a lot to think
(01:46):
about in trying to find the balance of
how do we approach all this?
So, Jeff, where would you like us to
begin today?
Well, I think you said it pretty well.
We do have clients that come in and
say, I want to spend my last nickel
on my way out the door, right?
And so I want to live, basically, I
want to live as large as I can.
(02:07):
During my retirement, I saved, you know, I'm
not interested in inheritances.
Maybe I don't have people I want to
leave it to.
Maybe they don't think that's the right decision
for their family.
And then there's the other group who are
nervous about spending anything because they're afraid that
they're going to have to help a family
member or they're going to have some unexpected
(02:28):
expense along the way.
Or, you know, maybe they're going to need
long-term care at the end of their
life.
And they're just really hesitant and living well
below their means in their retirement because of
I'm going to say fear again, that fear
that they're not going to have enough money
when they need it the most.
(02:49):
We have a client who refers to her
decisions about thinking about wealth and wealth transfer
generationally as skiing.
She refers to it as spending her kid's
inheritance, S-K-I.
But she also talks about that in the
(03:11):
context of shared experiences.
So she's taken all her kids on a
one-on-one trip or in different places
around the world, probably more than once at
this point.
She has taken her grandchildren on trips.
And her thought is that she's sharing experiences
that will be memories and relationship memories, but
(03:37):
also broadening their horizons and impacting their view
of the world to some extent.
And so very valid, right?
I do think there is a generational context.
When you think about the greatest generation and
their passing, it seems to me that it's
(04:00):
been a priority to that generation to try
to leave the next generation, perhaps those are
Gen Xers, or maybe those are boomers rather,
where they're receiving wealth that they can build
on.
(04:20):
It's leaving them some additional resources to help
them be better off and to help the
next generation have a leg up, that kind
of mindset.
And I think we're finding that as we
talk to boomers, it's not always as big
(04:42):
a priority.
I read an article recently that said only
22% of boomers plan to leave an
inheritance.
I don't find that to be the norm
of the people we speak with.
I find most of the clientele we interact
with really think they would like to leave
money to their next generation.
(05:06):
But there's something like $84 trillion that's expected
to transfer generationally over the next 20 years.
That's a ton.
That's an astounding amount of wealth.
And when you think about these changing, shifting
kind of priorities of, will people be looking
(05:27):
to spend or will they be looking to
look to efficiently transition wealth from one generation
to the next?
Generationally, right?
When we're doing our financial plans for our
clients, one of the questions with the software
that I typically use is, how much do
(05:49):
you want to leave for your inheritance?
A number.
And a lot of questions we ask our
clients in the financial planning process are pretty
quickly answered, but that one's not quickly answered.
It's really one that people haven't, most people,
I'm using generalities, but most people struggle with
because it's actually, you can say you'd like
(06:11):
to leave an inheritance or you don't, but
when it comes down to assigning a dollar
figure to it, it becomes really an opportunity
for reflection and it points out the importance
of a comprehensive plan and including all these
things.
Because if you're not intentional about it, either
way, not to be repetitive, but if you're
(06:32):
not intentional about your plan and have it
in writing and have it reviewed and look
at it with your advisor and your estate
planning attorney, you're likely not going to achieve
the goals that you set out to.
Having said that, I'm surprised at that 22
% number.
(06:52):
I would have guessed it was going to
be like a 50-50 split with people,
whether or not they wanted to leave a
sizable inheritance or not.
Yeah, I think it made me think of
a few conversations we've had with clients recently
where it's not as much about the inheritance
that they leave behind, but gifting now.
A lot of clients do want to provide
(07:15):
gifts for their kids, for their grandkids, whatever
it might be, while they're living.
This article that Chris referenced talks a little
bit about that, but then it's like shifting
priorities of do you withhold those gifts so
you can make sure you're taken care of,
and you and your spouse, whatever it may
be, or can that become part of the
(07:36):
giving plan?
So it's like trying to figure out the
balance of is there a gift amount that
should be going out each month?
Do we talk about it as an inheritance
when you pass away?
So these are all the different things you
have to consider in the financial planning process.
I think that is true.
I think a lot of times people think,
well, why do I want to wait till
I'm gone for them to have the benefit
(07:58):
of some of this wealth in terms of
gifting, like you're talking about, that they can
enjoy helping family get into a home or
paying for kids' education or whatever the priority
might be in a given instance, that it
can give them satisfaction around that, that people
(08:23):
enjoy.
We've encountered this.
Let's talk about this cultural phenomenon, though.
You mentioned it, Jeff, at the outset, the
idea of die with zero, kind of spend
your last penny.
Die Broke.
It's a book.
Yeah.
Die Broke.
It's a movement, right?
And there's also this whole FIRE movement, Financial
(08:48):
Independence, Retire Early, this idea that people want
to, I think we see this among millennials
and younger, this notion that they want to
live to the fullest, not work till they're
older and not able to see the world,
but they want to do that along the
(09:09):
way, that kind of mindset at the same
time or take sabbaticals more frequently or things
that are kind of, I mean, on the
one hand, you go, geez, that's kind of
brilliant.
On the other hand, it's like, is that
really practical?
It's kind of dangerous.
Yeah.
So I can see the appeal at the
(09:35):
same time.
I guess I fall more into that mindset
that I see the value and the virtue
of trying to help along the way some,
but not to the point where it becomes,
there's a dependence upon that and an expectation
(09:58):
surrounding that.
You don't want a lack of drive or
a lack of seeking financial independence from the
next generation.
And I look at my experience, I've benefited
from help from my parents along the way
and family members, grandparents.
(10:20):
We talked about these stories along the way
at times.
So Kristen's grandfather was great with helping us
get some college education money started, that kind
of stuff.
You can think about these and family has
done that.
My parents and Kristen's parents help along the
way.
So you can see how you want to
(10:41):
continue that at the same time.
And I'd like to leave this planet with
some of the fruit of my efforts to
help the next generation and leave them in
a position where they might have a little
more resources.
My goal is not to die with zero.
(11:03):
In fact, the problem with that, let's talk
about the challenge of this goal.
When are you going to die?
If you knew the date, your end date,
your expiration date, well, this planning becomes much
more attainable.
(11:25):
You can kind of plan that a lot
better.
Have you asked AI about this, Chris?
Maybe they can tell me, right?
Based on my diet and exercise and be
like, oh, yeah, here you go.
Here's your number.
There is actually an app out there.
I saw Death Clock started on the news
last week and it asks you 25, I
(11:46):
know I'm going on a tangent.
I apologize.
It asks you 25 or so questions.
And it gives you the date of your
death.
I'm going to write this down.
I need to know.
I'm not sure I want to know, but
I'm dying January 26, 2054.
Oh, you got a long time.
I'll be 90.
(12:07):
Yeah, nice.
I'm not relying on the Death Clock for
my financial plan.
It doesn't come with any guarantees.
But it's a good point, that notion that
you can live a long time.
We don't know how healthy we'll be while
we're alive.
What kind of costs will be associated with
it?
(12:28):
What was this article that inspired our conversation
here?
It was a Kiplinger's article, and it's available
online.
The title is Holding Wealth, Why Retirees Shouldn't
Focus on Leaving an Inheritance.
So we'll reference that in the show notes
if anybody's interested in the article itself.
(12:49):
But it did reference the costs of long
-term annual healthcare costs.
I think this is really nursing home long
-term care.
These are national averages.
So when it refers to the cost of
a nursing home as $127,750, that's a
national average.
In places where we live, Massachusetts, Florida, the
(13:16):
costs are higher.
Now, Florida is a little more reasonable than
it is in Massachusetts.
If you live in the coast, if you
live in DC, you live in New York,
you live in California's Los Angeles or San
(13:37):
Francisco areas, costs of living are great, are
high.
And you're going to have higher costs for
these kind of expenses.
In our area, we estimate it's about $180
,000 for a nursing home for one year.
Assisted living, they say $70,000.
It's probably closer to $130,000 in our
(13:58):
area.
That's an estimate.
It depends on, again, what's the level of
care.
My point is, we don't know, even with
our death clock health.
That's right.
That's right.
Didn't tell me how many years I might
need some assistance.
(14:19):
Yeah.
What your health will be along the way
and what's going to be a need for
health demands, healthcare costs.
The idea of trying to spend your last
dollar on your last day is appealing, but
I'd like to have a little bit of
(14:39):
a cushion, a little bit of resource, because
I really don't want to have to rely
on state resources for the quality of my
healthcare if I were to be in need
of this kind of a circumstance.
You talked about longevity with the death clock.
We talk to people all the time and
(15:01):
they have opinions about how long they're going
to live.
They usually underestimate what they live.
Yeah.
No man in my family has ever lived
past blank.
Of course, in those family members, maybe they
smoked or drank or heavily whatever, had jobs
(15:25):
or lifestyle considerations that may be different from
you.
Maybe they had different medical technologies and resources
than you might have at a given moment.
These are variables and that's not to say
(15:46):
that those aren't relevant and real concerns.
Let's face it, if you see that family
members have died at a young age because
of heart disease, as an example, or whatever,
naturally you're going to think, well, my lifespan
might be shorter.
We have to think in terms of, particularly
for family, if we're married, not only our
(16:09):
own life expectancy, but how long will this
money be needed for the combined circumstances of
a spouse who may live a long time
as well.
This really is the biggest unknown in a
financial plan.
We do a lot of projections, cashflow projections.
(16:31):
As you mentioned earlier, Russ, we put in
maybe the goal to give money away.
We can model that.
Can I spend so much a year on
vacations?
How often do I buy a car?
I'd like to do the following gifts every
year or periodically or have this fund that
I can give away a certain amount.
We can model all that out.
(16:53):
We have specific ages that we default to
for how long we expect or want to
plan for, depending on the circumstances, meaning how
long we think they're going to live and
be very conservative about that.
This question of are you going to have
a major healthcare issue, a long-term care
issue where you need either home care or
(17:15):
a facility is really the reason why you
shouldn't try to die broke, in my opinion.
You need to plan for this somehow.
We talk about this on other shows, but
whether that's an insurance policy that is on
the side of your financial plan or if
it's a dedicated bucket of money, whatever it
(17:40):
is, not having a plan on how you
might deal with it, if it happens, this
is one of those things I think that
we commonly think happens to other people.
It's not going to happen to me.
If something happens to me, my wife's going
to take care of me or something happens
to my wife, I'm going to take care
(18:00):
of her at home.
We're not going to have any of that
expense.
It just doesn't typically work out when you
have that level of need that the spouse
or a family member is able to actually
take care of the person adequately in their
home.
I think the other piece too is even
(18:21):
in the plan, you can say, all right,
here are the variables that I'm going to
account for.
Let's say we have a three-year long
-term care expense, we have living expenses, whatever.
We can put that all in there and
say, all right, how much can we take
from the portfolio to end up with zero
dollars?
We can create that math equation and come
up with an answer.
But then there's all those other uncertainties.
(18:42):
Even if you take away long-term care,
I'm just racking my brain for some examples.
For example, if a kid goes through a
divorce and then you're helping the kid go
through the divorce or helping them with their
kids, or if a sibling has some health
needs and they don't have the funds to
cover it.
We have clients who help their siblings out.
There's a lot of things that you might
(19:04):
not be able to account for in a
plan.
Not to say that all these uncertainties should
scare people to not spend any money, but
at the same time, there are reasons to
want to have something and not nothing when
you die or at a later stage of
life.
Yeah.
The article you referenced, Chris, its focus is
to put yourself first.
(19:25):
It's not so much not planning.
Of course, the article has components of financial
planning included in it as a good financial
planning article would, but it's to find a
way in your financial plan to put yourself
first and do those things that you want
to do.
That's also part of a plan.
(19:46):
Sometimes people get mired down, and our conversations
do too, about what happens if this happens,
what happens if that happens.
But that's not the only components of a
financial plan.
You should put those things that you want
to do.
We always talk about travel.
That's an obvious one that people can think
about.
Or if it's helping families, when you are
(20:08):
developing your comprehensive financial plan, all of these
things, the good things and the scary things
should be in it.
I shouldn't go through a whole episode without
saying my favorite word.
It gives you permission to do those things.
I knew you knew what was coming.
But it does.
If you were working with someone that takes
(20:29):
the time, if you're working with an advisor
who takes the time to develop this financial
plan and review it with you at least
annually, and you have this desire to make
a big a big gift at a wedding,
or make a gift so someone can buy
a first house, or help someone with their
college, or help a sibling, and it's in
(20:50):
your plan, you can make a quick call
to your advisor and say, I'm thinking about
helping my sister.
She needs $20,000 for X, Y, or
Z.
And you just test the plan a little
bit and say, yep, it's in there.
You can do that.
Or maybe you shouldn't do that.
All these topics to me keep underlying the
(21:10):
benefits of a plan and how it can
bring you peace of mind.
It shouldn't make you wary at the end
of the day.
It should make you feel confident that you're
ready, that you can spend a certain level
of your wealth, do the things that are
in your plan without having to wonder, what's
it going to be like at the end
of my plan?
(21:32):
Yeah, great point.
And I think you've already made the point,
both of you, that this can really be
done in a way through a financial plan
to help you model what you plan to
spend, what if I want to do this
extra for a gift, or for fun, or
(21:55):
whatever it may be, these options that you
might think about, and stress test for costs
of healthcare or market fluctuations or whatever it
might be, increased taxes and higher inflation.
We do a variety of these kind of
things.
But this is where you start with all
this.
Start with a good financial planning.
(22:16):
We use some great software, but I would
encourage our listeners to start with a good
advisor, a fiduciary, and obviously we're here to
help if you'd like to talk to us.
But get some assistance in the process to
help guide you through the whole process to
make sure that you're approaching it in a
(22:39):
way that is deliberate, considers all the variables,
or at least many of them.
I suppose you can't think of everything.
But try to go through some of the
variations and stress tests and make sure that
you've got a plan that works.
So that's an important part of this.
Jeff, this year, over the last year or
(23:02):
so, you've been a big proponent of family
communication.
And that's another maybe element of this that's
worth taking a minute or two to talk
about so that there aren't unrealistic expectations for
the next generation.
What are you intending to do?
(23:24):
So there's no assumption of a massive inheritance
or something, and that's not coming or whatever.
I think one of the things that's important
in the process is what we're trying to
do, I think, sometimes is model behavior and
extend our values.
(23:45):
And maybe that's as my client I referred
to earlier is doing by saying, hey, I
want to have these shared memories and life
experiences and instill values with you.
Whatever that is for you, that's part of
what you're trying to communicate when you think
(24:05):
about your responsible financial planning and potentially conveyance
of wealth as well or not, whatever those
choices you make are.
And that might lead to talking a little
(24:25):
bit about estate and estate planning discussion a
little bit as well.
Yeah, I think any good financial plan has
to have an estate planning component to it.
Not that we're going to do your estate
plan, but we're going to work with your
estate planning attorney to make sure that your
financial plan and your estate plan are working
together, not opposite against each other.
And to your point about communications, thanks for
(24:47):
bringing that up, because I think it's not
only the things that you mentioned about you're
not going to get an inheritance, son.
Good luck.
I'm joking, right?
Whatever it is.
And when I bring this up, I don't
mean that you're going to have spreadsheets all
over the table and say, if I die
(25:10):
in 2054, like the death clock says, this
is your expected inheritance.
But talking about those issues about you don't
need to worry about us.
We have a plan for our long-term
care if we need it.
We have our estate plan.
This is our estate planning attorney.
We have a financial plan.
So if we become incapacitated to handle our
(25:33):
own affairs, this is who we chose.
Maybe it's you, the woman at the table,
or maybe not.
And this is why.
And if we have a healthcare issue, this
is our healthcare proxy.
And this is why.
Just putting those things out on the table
not only provides your loved one's peace of
mind, which is important, and they know who
(25:55):
to turn to in the event of a
crisis, but it also, I think, prevents strife
in the family.
And it takes away, you know, like, did
dad really mean to appoint Sally as the
power of attorney?
That doesn't make sense.
If dad actually explained why Mary is the
(26:15):
power of attorney, because she's local, you know,
she's an attorney, or whatever the, you know,
the reasons that dad has, I think it
just is a gift to your family to
have these plans in place and to let
those people who are involved with those plans
know your reasoning behind it.
I'll just share a quick anecdote.
(26:36):
Had a call yesterday with a client looking
to connect with an estate planning attorney.
And, you know, so we started talking a
little bit about their direction of their plan,
because sometimes, you know, the one hand you
think, well, I want to preserve wealth for
the next generation.
I might, maybe I want a Medicaid planning
(26:58):
kind of trust versus one that's less useful
in protecting assets from Medicaid spend down, a
revocable trust, but one that I retain all
the control, I have total access to my
wealth, you know, that kind of thing.
Important issues to people, yeah.
So this directional question of where we go.
(27:20):
And as we talked about it, we said,
well, gee, you know, you have the bulk
of your investment wealth is in retirement accounts,
IRA, Roth IRA.
So those don't go in a trust anyway.
The house has a mortgage on it.
(27:42):
It's likely to be there for a while.
So, well, maybe that kind of like makes
it less appealing to go down the Medicaid
planning route because, you know, it's not an
unencumbered asset that you could just gift to
a trust or something or somebody else.
So that's not really an approach that makes
(28:03):
sense.
So I was like, well, let's talk it
out a little bit.
And it kind of helped navigate, all right,
well, which direction should we think about for
your planning today?
Not to say that's a forever decision, right?
Because, you know, if your health were to
change or, you know, you had some greater
clarity around, you know, needs or you decided
(28:25):
to pay off the mortgage, okay, well, now
you've got a different set of circumstances.
So in any case, it helps to kind
of help me to help them figure out
which direction are we thinking we want to
go in terms of their planning, given the
bulk of their wealth isn't really subject to
(28:46):
probate and the like, right?
So it's a matter of like whether they
want to do a trust, a will-based
plan or what.
So I didn't want to go too far
to say, oh, this is what you should
do because it's ultimately, you know, we want
to give the lawyer with their expertise the
legal guidance, you know, that the client should
(29:08):
have, but gave a chance to try to
identify which direction, which kind of lawyer should
we be looking for who's maybe the right
fit for these different circumstances.
Yep.
And sometimes when those communications don't happen, the
estate planning attorney may have a whole different
view of what that client's goals are if
they don't have a good understanding of what
(29:30):
their assets are.
Well, I think to your point too, it's
also, we have different disciplines.
The accountant thinks about life through a prism
that they look through.
The estate planning attorney has a view of
what they see and what they're prioritizing.
The insurance agent looks at things through a
(29:51):
prism that they look at through.
So hopefully as the financial planner, fiduciary, you
know, where we can look at it, again,
we have a prism that we look through,
but trying to try to put it all
together in a way that can help the
client navigate those issues and make sense of
it.
Well, good stuff.
(30:12):
Thanks guys for an interesting conversation.
I will again, just mention for our listeners,
don't hesitate to reach out if you need
a little help in finding direction as it
relates to your planning.
Let us know how we can help in
the process and you can always connect with
us at our office or by phone 508
(30:35):
-771-8900.
Until next time, everybody keeps striving for something
more.
Thank you for listening to Something More with
Chris Boyd.
Call us for help, whether it's for financial
planning or portfolio management, insurance concerns, or those
quality of life issues that make the money
matters matter.
Whatever's on your mind, visit us at somethingmorewithchrisboyd
(30:57):
.com or call us toll free at 866
-771-8901.
Or send us your questions to amr-info
at wealthenhancement.com.
You're listening to Something More with Chris Boyd
Financial Talk Show.
Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and Jay Christopher Boyd
provide investment advice on an individual basis to
(31:18):
clients only.
Proper advice depends on a complete analysis of
all facts and circumstances.
The information given on this program is general
financial comments and cannot be relied upon as
pertaining to your specific situation.
Wealth Enhancement Group cannot guarantee that using the
information from this show will generate profits or
ensure freedom from loss.
Listeners should consult their own financial advisors or
conduct their own due diligence before making any
financial decisions.
Welcome to Something More with Chris Boyd.
Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner, practitioner,
and senior vice president and financial advisor at
Wealth Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest
registered investment advisors.
We call it Something More because we'd like
to talk not only about those important dollar
and cents issues, but also the quality of
life issues that make the money matters matter.
(00:23):
Here he is, your fulfillment facilitator, your partner
in prosperity, advising clients on Cape Cod and
across the country.
Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.
Welcome, and thanks for joining us for an
episode of Something More with Chris Boyd.
I'm here with Jeff Perry and Russ Ball.
We are all of the AMR team at
(00:44):
Wealth Enhancement.
And just to remind everybody, if you're listening
to us, you can also find us by
video on YouTube, on the Wealth Enhancement Group
page on YouTube, as well as on our
webpage directly.
You can go to somethingmorewithchrisboyd.com, as well
(01:04):
as anywhere you like to listen to podcasts.
So glad you're listening.
Please share it, please rate us, and it
makes a difference for people helping them find
the content we're providing.
And if you think this show would be
of any help to anyone, please share it.
So we're going to talk a little bit
about some of the challenges of trying to
(01:24):
decide, do I spend my retirement money and
try to make the most of the experiences
and share that with my family and so
forth?
Or do I try to preserve wealth and
pass that on as well?
Both valuable considerations, but a lot to think
(01:46):
about in trying to find the balance of
how do we approach all this?
So, Jeff, where would you like us to
begin today?
Well, I think you said it pretty well.
We do have clients that come in and
say, I want to spend my last nickel
on my way out the door, right?
And so I want to live, basically, I
want to live as large as I can.
(02:07):
During my retirement, I saved, you know, I'm
not interested in inheritances.
Maybe I don't have people I want to
leave it to.
Maybe they don't think that's the right decision
for their family.
And then there's the other group who are
nervous about spending anything because they're afraid that
they're going to have to help a family
member or they're going to have some unexpected
(02:28):
expense along the way.
Or, you know, maybe they're going to need
long-term care at the end of their
life.
And they're just really hesitant and living well
below their means in their retirement because of
I'm going to say fear again, that fear
that they're not going to have enough money
when they need it the most.
(02:49):
We have a client who refers to her
decisions about thinking about wealth and wealth transfer
generationally as skiing.
She refers to it as spending her kid's
inheritance, S-K-I.
But she also talks about that in the
(03:11):
context of shared experiences.
So she's taken all her kids on a
one-on-one trip or in different places
around the world, probably more than once at
this point.
She has taken her grandchildren on trips.
And her thought is that she's sharing experiences
that will be memories and relationship memories, but
(03:37):
also broadening their horizons and impacting their view
of the world to some extent.
And so very valid, right?
I do think there is a generational context.
When you think about the greatest generation and
their passing, it seems to me that it's
(04:00):
been a priority to that generation to try
to leave the next generation, perhaps those are
Gen Xers, or maybe those are boomers rather,
where they're receiving wealth that they can build
on.
(04:20):
It's leaving them some additional resources to help
them be better off and to help the
next generation have a leg up, that kind
of mindset.
And I think we're finding that as we
talk to boomers, it's not always as big
(04:42):
a priority.
I read an article recently that said only
22% of boomers plan to leave an
inheritance.
I don't find that to be the norm
of the people we speak with.
I find most of the clientele we interact
with really think they would like to leave
money to their next generation.
(05:06):
But there's something like $84 trillion that's expected
to transfer generationally over the next 20 years.
That's a ton.
That's an astounding amount of wealth.
And when you think about these changing, shifting
kind of priorities of, will people be looking
(05:27):
to spend or will they be looking to
look to efficiently transition wealth from one generation
to the next?
Generationally, right?
When we're doing our financial plans for our
clients, one of the questions with the software
that I typically use is, how much do
(05:49):
you want to leave for your inheritance?
A number.
And a lot of questions we ask our
clients in the financial planning process are pretty
quickly answered, but that one's not quickly answered.
It's really one that people haven't, most people,
I'm using generalities, but most people struggle with
because it's actually, you can say you'd like
(06:11):
to leave an inheritance or you don't, but
when it comes down to assigning a dollar
figure to it, it becomes really an opportunity
for reflection and it points out the importance
of a comprehensive plan and including all these
things.
Because if you're not intentional about it, either
way, not to be repetitive, but if you're
(06:32):
not intentional about your plan and have it
in writing and have it reviewed and look
at it with your advisor and your estate
planning attorney, you're likely not going to achieve
the goals that you set out to.
Having said that, I'm surprised at that 22
% number.
(06:52):
I would have guessed it was going to
be like a 50-50 split with people,
whether or not they wanted to leave a
sizable inheritance or not.
Yeah, I think it made me think of
a few conversations we've had with clients recently
where it's not as much about the inheritance
that they leave behind, but gifting now.
A lot of clients do want to provide
(07:15):
gifts for their kids, for their grandkids, whatever
it might be, while they're living.
This article that Chris referenced talks a little
bit about that, but then it's like shifting
priorities of do you withhold those gifts so
you can make sure you're taken care of,
and you and your spouse, whatever it may
be, or can that become part of the
(07:36):
giving plan?
So it's like trying to figure out the
balance of is there a gift amount that
should be going out each month?
Do we talk about it as an inheritance
when you pass away?
So these are all the different things you
have to consider in the financial planning process.
I think that is true.
I think a lot of times people think,
well, why do I want to wait till
I'm gone for them to have the benefit
(07:58):
of some of this wealth in terms of
gifting, like you're talking about, that they can
enjoy helping family get into a home or
paying for kids' education or whatever the priority
might be in a given instance, that it
can give them satisfaction around that, that people
(08:23):
enjoy.
We've encountered this.
Let's talk about this cultural phenomenon, though.
You mentioned it, Jeff, at the outset, the
idea of die with zero, kind of spend
your last penny.
Die Broke.
It's a book.
Yeah.
Die Broke.
It's a movement, right?
And there's also this whole FIRE movement, Financial
(08:48):
Independence, Retire Early, this idea that people want
to, I think we see this among millennials
and younger, this notion that they want to
live to the fullest, not work till they're
older and not able to see the world,
but they want to do that along the
(09:09):
way, that kind of mindset at the same
time or take sabbaticals more frequently or things
that are kind of, I mean, on the
one hand, you go, geez, that's kind of
brilliant.
On the other hand, it's like, is that
really practical?
It's kind of dangerous.
Yeah.
So I can see the appeal at the
(09:35):
same time.
I guess I fall more into that mindset
that I see the value and the virtue
of trying to help along the way some,
but not to the point where it becomes,
there's a dependence upon that and an expectation
(09:58):
surrounding that.
You don't want a lack of drive or
a lack of seeking financial independence from the
next generation.
And I look at my experience, I've benefited
from help from my parents along the way
and family members, grandparents.
(10:20):
We talked about these stories along the way
at times.
So Kristen's grandfather was great with helping us
get some college education money started, that kind
of stuff.
You can think about these and family has
done that.
My parents and Kristen's parents help along the
way.
So you can see how you want to
(10:41):
continue that at the same time.
And I'd like to leave this planet with
some of the fruit of my efforts to
help the next generation and leave them in
a position where they might have a little
more resources.
My goal is not to die with zero.
(11:03):
In fact, the problem with that, let's talk
about the challenge of this goal.
When are you going to die?
If you knew the date, your end date,
your expiration date, well, this planning becomes much
more attainable.
(11:25):
You can kind of plan that a lot
better.
Have you asked AI about this, Chris?
Maybe they can tell me, right?
Based on my diet and exercise and be
like, oh, yeah, here you go.
Here's your number.
There is actually an app out there.
I saw Death Clock started on the news
last week and it asks you 25, I
(11:46):
know I'm going on a tangent.
I apologize.
It asks you 25 or so questions.
And it gives you the date of your
death.
I'm going to write this down.
I need to know.
I'm not sure I want to know, but
I'm dying January 26, 2054.
Oh, you got a long time.
I'll be 90.
(12:07):
Yeah, nice.
I'm not relying on the Death Clock for
my financial plan.
It doesn't come with any guarantees.
But it's a good point, that notion that
you can live a long time.
We don't know how healthy we'll be while
we're alive.
What kind of costs will be associated with
it?
(12:28):
What was this article that inspired our conversation
here?
It was a Kiplinger's article, and it's available
online.
The title is Holding Wealth, Why Retirees Shouldn't
Focus on Leaving an Inheritance.
So we'll reference that in the show notes
if anybody's interested in the article itself.
(12:49):
But it did reference the costs of long
-term annual healthcare costs.
I think this is really nursing home long
-term care.
These are national averages.
So when it refers to the cost of
a nursing home as $127,750, that's a
national average.
In places where we live, Massachusetts, Florida, the
(13:16):
costs are higher.
Now, Florida is a little more reasonable than
it is in Massachusetts.
If you live in the coast, if you
live in DC, you live in New York,
you live in California's Los Angeles or San
(13:37):
Francisco areas, costs of living are great, are
high.
And you're going to have higher costs for
these kind of expenses.
In our area, we estimate it's about $180
,000 for a nursing home for one year.
Assisted living, they say $70,000.
It's probably closer to $130,000 in our
(13:58):
area.
That's an estimate.
It depends on, again, what's the level of
care.
My point is, we don't know, even with
our death clock health.
That's right.
That's right.
Didn't tell me how many years I might
need some assistance.
(14:19):
Yeah.
What your health will be along the way
and what's going to be a need for
health demands, healthcare costs.
The idea of trying to spend your last
dollar on your last day is appealing, but
I'd like to have a little bit of
(14:39):
a cushion, a little bit of resource, because
I really don't want to have to rely
on state resources for the quality of my
healthcare if I were to be in need
of this kind of a circumstance.
You talked about longevity with the death clock.
We talk to people all the time and
(15:01):
they have opinions about how long they're going
to live.
They usually underestimate what they live.
Yeah.
No man in my family has ever lived
past blank.
Of course, in those family members, maybe they
smoked or drank or heavily whatever, had jobs
(15:25):
or lifestyle considerations that may be different from
you.
Maybe they had different medical technologies and resources
than you might have at a given moment.
These are variables and that's not to say
(15:46):
that those aren't relevant and real concerns.
Let's face it, if you see that family
members have died at a young age because
of heart disease, as an example, or whatever,
naturally you're going to think, well, my lifespan
might be shorter.
We have to think in terms of, particularly
for family, if we're married, not only our
(16:09):
own life expectancy, but how long will this
money be needed for the combined circumstances of
a spouse who may live a long time
as well.
This really is the biggest unknown in a
financial plan.
We do a lot of projections, cashflow projections.
(16:31):
As you mentioned earlier, Russ, we put in
maybe the goal to give money away.
We can model that.
Can I spend so much a year on
vacations?
How often do I buy a car?
I'd like to do the following gifts every
year or periodically or have this fund that
I can give away a certain amount.
We can model all that out.
(16:53):
We have specific ages that we default to
for how long we expect or want to
plan for, depending on the circumstances, meaning how
long we think they're going to live and
be very conservative about that.
This question of are you going to have
a major healthcare issue, a long-term care
issue where you need either home care or
(17:15):
a facility is really the reason why you
shouldn't try to die broke, in my opinion.
You need to plan for this somehow.
We talk about this on other shows, but
whether that's an insurance policy that is on
the side of your financial plan or if
it's a dedicated bucket of money, whatever it
(17:40):
is, not having a plan on how you
might deal with it, if it happens, this
is one of those things I think that
we commonly think happens to other people.
It's not going to happen to me.
If something happens to me, my wife's going
to take care of me or something happens
to my wife, I'm going to take care
(18:00):
of her at home.
We're not going to have any of that
expense.
It just doesn't typically work out when you
have that level of need that the spouse
or a family member is able to actually
take care of the person adequately in their
home.
I think the other piece too is even
(18:21):
in the plan, you can say, all right,
here are the variables that I'm going to
account for.
Let's say we have a three-year long
-term care expense, we have living expenses, whatever.
We can put that all in there and
say, all right, how much can we take
from the portfolio to end up with zero
dollars?
We can create that math equation and come
up with an answer.
But then there's all those other uncertainties.
(18:42):
Even if you take away long-term care,
I'm just racking my brain for some examples.
For example, if a kid goes through a
divorce and then you're helping the kid go
through the divorce or helping them with their
kids, or if a sibling has some health
needs and they don't have the funds to
cover it.
We have clients who help their siblings out.
There's a lot of things that you might
(19:04):
not be able to account for in a
plan.
Not to say that all these uncertainties should
scare people to not spend any money, but
at the same time, there are reasons to
want to have something and not nothing when
you die or at a later stage of
life.
Yeah.
The article you referenced, Chris, its focus is
to put yourself first.
(19:25):
It's not so much not planning.
Of course, the article has components of financial
planning included in it as a good financial
planning article would, but it's to find a
way in your financial plan to put yourself
first and do those things that you want
to do.
That's also part of a plan.
(19:46):
Sometimes people get mired down, and our conversations
do too, about what happens if this happens,
what happens if that happens.
But that's not the only components of a
financial plan.
You should put those things that you want
to do.
We always talk about travel.
That's an obvious one that people can think
about.
Or if it's helping families, when you are
(20:08):
developing your comprehensive financial plan, all of these
things, the good things and the scary things
should be in it.
I shouldn't go through a whole episode without
saying my favorite word.
It gives you permission to do those things.
I knew you knew what was coming.
But it does.
If you were working with someone that takes
(20:29):
the time, if you're working with an advisor
who takes the time to develop this financial
plan and review it with you at least
annually, and you have this desire to make
a big a big gift at a wedding,
or make a gift so someone can buy
a first house, or help someone with their
college, or help a sibling, and it's in
(20:50):
your plan, you can make a quick call
to your advisor and say, I'm thinking about
helping my sister.
She needs $20,000 for X, Y, or
Z.
And you just test the plan a little
bit and say, yep, it's in there.
You can do that.
Or maybe you shouldn't do that.
All these topics to me keep underlying the
(21:10):
benefits of a plan and how it can
bring you peace of mind.
It shouldn't make you wary at the end
of the day.
It should make you feel confident that you're
ready, that you can spend a certain level
of your wealth, do the things that are
in your plan without having to wonder, what's
it going to be like at the end
of my plan?
(21:32):
Yeah, great point.
And I think you've already made the point,
both of you, that this can really be
done in a way through a financial plan
to help you model what you plan to
spend, what if I want to do this
extra for a gift, or for fun, or
(21:55):
whatever it may be, these options that you
might think about, and stress test for costs
of healthcare or market fluctuations or whatever it
might be, increased taxes and higher inflation.
We do a variety of these kind of
things.
But this is where you start with all
this.
Start with a good financial planning.
(22:16):
We use some great software, but I would
encourage our listeners to start with a good
advisor, a fiduciary, and obviously we're here to
help if you'd like to talk to us.
But get some assistance in the process to
help guide you through the whole process to
make sure that you're approaching it in a
(22:39):
way that is deliberate, considers all the variables,
or at least many of them.
I suppose you can't think of everything.
But try to go through some of the
variations and stress tests and make sure that
you've got a plan that works.
So that's an important part of this.
Jeff, this year, over the last year or
(23:02):
so, you've been a big proponent of family
communication.
And that's another maybe element of this that's
worth taking a minute or two to talk
about so that there aren't unrealistic expectations for
the next generation.
What are you intending to do?
(23:24):
So there's no assumption of a massive inheritance
or something, and that's not coming or whatever.
I think one of the things that's important
in the process is what we're trying to
do, I think, sometimes is model behavior and
extend our values.
(23:45):
And maybe that's as my client I referred
to earlier is doing by saying, hey, I
want to have these shared memories and life
experiences and instill values with you.
Whatever that is for you, that's part of
what you're trying to communicate when you think
(24:05):
about your responsible financial planning and potentially conveyance
of wealth as well or not, whatever those
choices you make are.
And that might lead to talking a little
(24:25):
bit about estate and estate planning discussion a
little bit as well.
Yeah, I think any good financial plan has
to have an estate planning component to it.
Not that we're going to do your estate
plan, but we're going to work with your
estate planning attorney to make sure that your
financial plan and your estate plan are working
together, not opposite against each other.
And to your point about communications, thanks for
(24:47):
bringing that up, because I think it's not
only the things that you mentioned about you're
not going to get an inheritance, son.
Good luck.
I'm joking, right?
Whatever it is.
And when I bring this up, I don't
mean that you're going to have spreadsheets all
over the table and say, if I die
(25:10):
in 2054, like the death clock says, this
is your expected inheritance.
But talking about those issues about you don't
need to worry about us.
We have a plan for our long-term
care if we need it.
We have our estate plan.
This is our estate planning attorney.
We have a financial plan.
So if we become incapacitated to handle our
(25:33):
own affairs, this is who we chose.
Maybe it's you, the woman at the table,
or maybe not.
And this is why.
And if we have a healthcare issue, this
is our healthcare proxy.
And this is why.
Just putting those things out on the table
not only provides your loved one's peace of
mind, which is important, and they know who
(25:55):
to turn to in the event of a
crisis, but it also, I think, prevents strife
in the family.
And it takes away, you know, like, did
dad really mean to appoint Sally as the
power of attorney?
That doesn't make sense.
If dad actually explained why Mary is the
(26:15):
power of attorney, because she's local, you know,
she's an attorney, or whatever the, you know,
the reasons that dad has, I think it
just is a gift to your family to
have these plans in place and to let
those people who are involved with those plans
know your reasoning behind it.
I'll just share a quick anecdote.
(26:36):
Had a call yesterday with a client looking
to connect with an estate planning attorney.
And, you know, so we started talking a
little bit about their direction of their plan,
because sometimes, you know, the one hand you
think, well, I want to preserve wealth for
the next generation.
I might, maybe I want a Medicaid planning
(26:58):
kind of trust versus one that's less useful
in protecting assets from Medicaid spend down, a
revocable trust, but one that I retain all
the control, I have total access to my
wealth, you know, that kind of thing.
Important issues to people, yeah.
So this directional question of where we go.
(27:20):
And as we talked about it, we said,
well, gee, you know, you have the bulk
of your investment wealth is in retirement accounts,
IRA, Roth IRA.
So those don't go in a trust anyway.
The house has a mortgage on it.
(27:42):
It's likely to be there for a while.
So, well, maybe that kind of like makes
it less appealing to go down the Medicaid
planning route because, you know, it's not an
unencumbered asset that you could just gift to
a trust or something or somebody else.
So that's not really an approach that makes
(28:03):
sense.
So I was like, well, let's talk it
out a little bit.
And it kind of helped navigate, all right,
well, which direction should we think about for
your planning today?
Not to say that's a forever decision, right?
Because, you know, if your health were to
change or, you know, you had some greater
clarity around, you know, needs or you decided
(28:25):
to pay off the mortgage, okay, well, now
you've got a different set of circumstances.
So in any case, it helps to kind
of help me to help them figure out
which direction are we thinking we want to
go in terms of their planning, given the
bulk of their wealth isn't really subject to
(28:46):
probate and the like, right?
So it's a matter of like whether they
want to do a trust, a will-based
plan or what.
So I didn't want to go too far
to say, oh, this is what you should
do because it's ultimately, you know, we want
to give the lawyer with their expertise the
legal guidance, you know, that the client should
(29:08):
have, but gave a chance to try to
identify which direction, which kind of lawyer should
we be looking for who's maybe the right
fit for these different circumstances.
Yep.
And sometimes when those communications don't happen, the
estate planning attorney may have a whole different
view of what that client's goals are if
they don't have a good understanding of what
(29:30):
their assets are.
Well, I think to your point too, it's
also, we have different disciplines.
The accountant thinks about life through a prism
that they look through.
The estate planning attorney has a view of
what they see and what they're prioritizing.
The insurance agent looks at things through a
(29:51):
prism that they look at through.
So hopefully as the financial planner, fiduciary, you
know, where we can look at it, again,
we have a prism that we look through,
but trying to try to put it all
together in a way that can help the
client navigate those issues and make sense of
it.
Well, good stuff.
(30:12):
Thanks guys for an interesting conversation.
I will again, just mention for our listeners,
don't hesitate to reach out if you need
a little help in finding direction as it
relates to your planning.
Let us know how we can help in
the process and you can always connect with
us at our office or by phone 508
(30:35):
-771-8900.
Until next time, everybody keeps striving for something
more.
Thank you for listening to Something More with
Chris Boyd.
Call us for help, whether it's for financial
planning or portfolio management, insurance concerns, or those
quality of life issues that make the money
matters matter.
Whatever's on your mind, visit us at somethingmorewithchrisboyd
(30:57):
.com or call us toll free at 866
-771-8901.
Or send us your questions to amr-info
at wealthenhancement.com.
You're listening to Something More with Chris Boyd
Financial Talk Show.
Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services and Jay Christopher Boyd
provide investment advice on an individual basis to
(31:18):
clients only.
Proper advice depends on a complete analysis of
all facts and circumstances.
The information given on this program is general
financial comments and cannot be relied upon as
pertaining to your specific situation.
Wealth Enhancement Group cannot guarantee that using the
information from this show will generate profits or
ensure freedom from loss.
Listeners should consult their own financial advisors or
conduct their own due diligence before making any
financial decisions.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com