Dear Kim,
I have never been married, and I have done very well for myself financially throughout my long career. I am approaching retirement age, and I want to make sure I leave as much money as possible to my nieces and nephews while still having a comfortable retirement. What is the best way to go about this?
Sincerely,
Altruistic Auntie
Dear Altruistic Auntie,
You can plan to leave assets to your family members in your will, which will ensure the money is available to you during your lifetime, and whatever you don’t spend will be theirs. If leaving them a specific amount is important to you, pull that amount out of your retirement planning and see what impact that has on your budget. If it does not leave enough for you to have a comfortable retirement, consider lowering the amount you want to pass along.
Remember, you have worked hard your entire life to save this money, and your first responsibility is to yourself. It won’t do anyone any good if you set aside too much and end up relying on those same family members to support you in your later years. I have had clients over the years who gave so much money to family that they ended up with too little to support themselves, so please don’t do that.
Kim
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