Recently, CNN News host Anderson Cooper made news when he announced on the Howard Stern Show that he would not be inheriting his family’s fortune, which consists mostly of his mother’s $200 million net worth (listen to the full interview here – https://soundcloud.com/howardstern/andersooncoopernoinheritance)
Mr. Cooper opined that any inheritance is an “initiative sucker” and a “curse” that keeps those who inherit money from doing anything productive with their lives.
First of all, Mr. Cooper’s annual salary of $11 million makes that pretty easy for him to say. Second, Mr. Cooper’s mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, inherited a $5 million trust fund, which she used to build her fashion and interior design companies into a $200 million empire.
Regardless of what I think is a (tad-bit) hypocritical and self-serving statement by Mr. Cooper, I am in the minority. Only 46% of baby boomers think that it’s important to leave an inheritance.
For those 54% who think it is not important to leave an inheritance, and specifically, those who agree with Mr. Cooper – I am telling you right now that is a cop out. There are many estate planning options to get around the “initiative sucker” excuse. One is to set up a trust and specify specific milestones or achievements that are necessary for the next disbursement of money (college graduation, first job, business start-up, degree in higher education, etc). Another is a fantastic idea that a client recently brought to my attention – leaving nothing to their son, but instead, starting a non-profit that the son could work for and earn a decent salary, thereby ensuring funding for a cause they believed in and at the same time ensuring that their son had a job available if he chose to work for the company.
No matter what side of the fence you fall on, it is important to leave this world a better place than you found it. Whether you think that can be accomplished by leaving your children an inheritance, or by leaving your money to a cause you believe in, action is required on your part and starts with a solid estate plan.
