giving inheritance to grandchildren

I read this in today's DT, front page headline actually.
I have 6 GC and 4 steps, I'm afraid my inheritance would not go far divided amongst them,quite apart from the fact that my C need it. Nice if you can do it though.

yes absolutely - if my children needed it, I would of course divide it between them first. Luckily, they're in a position where they don't - it would be nice for them, but not essential. We've discussed it and they're actually quite relieved that we're choosing to help the GC out. I knew how worried they were about them

I think this is a way of the government trying to pass the buck and make us take responsibility for the housing crisis instead of sorting it out themselves. If you own a house that is, say, worth around £200,000 and have like the poster above a number of GC (in her case ten) then you'd end up leaving then £20,000 each - and that figure is gross depending on whether taxes or duties needed to be paid, so it could end up being substantially less. I don't know anyone who would sniff at £20,000 obviously, but is that amount going to solve the housing position of an individual? Unlikely. Especially if they live in London

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I agree. Also it all goes back to this 'wealthy baby boomers' thing which we are really getting bored of now. As has been said many times on this site - not all baby boomers are wealthy! Yes, perhaps many were able to take advantage of cheaper housing to buy - but they often gave up everything else in order to do so. No holidays, no eating out, feeding the family on the cheapest and most basic provisions, no luxuries at all. Wide screen TVs, smart phones and foreign travel would never have made it close to the agenda. I cannot imagine my grandchildren's faces if they were told they had to do without these 'essentials of modern life' in order to scrimp and save every penny for a mortgage

I don't see why this is any of the government's business! I would love to have enough to leave to my children and my grandchildren but I won't so I will leave whatever i have to my children and if they find they don't need it or feel that their children need helping more than they do it can be their decision to pass it down

We have decided that our children will inherit equally whatever we leave. However, all my grandchildren have a savings account opened by me upon their birth which will be topped up to the nearest thousand out of my estate when I die. They will each get the same amount no matter when they were born. My husband will get any money left in my estate while my half of our house will go to my three children. My choice as OH has two pensions already to keep him comfortable and there is a clause that allows the surviving spouce to live in the house until death. When OH dies the other half of the house will pass to the children along with any money or property left in the estate.

What I leave to mine is nothing to do with politicians. If they had not made things so difficult for us all we could have left the children a lot more.

Over the years I have financially helped my 3 children when I have felt they needed a helping hand. It has never been asked for, it has never been at the same time and it has not been to the same value.

The problem, as I see it, with leaving it to the grandchildren, is that their circumstances might be vastly different from each other when they inherit. In my family some of the 'other' grandparents are very wealthy. I intend to leave my money to my children. I know that they do not need it, but they can decide in which way to help there own children.

Cari. No my ? was related to the comment immediately before it. Is it the governments responsibility to provide housing for all and why immediately think of London.

Yes you are right CariGransnet. My point was that the housing minister seems to be implying that this is the answer and by doing so rather passing the buck. Of course I don't think it is the government's responsibility to provide housing for all but I do think they have an obligation to look at the wider issues that are leaving many young people with no hope of being able to buy (not the be all and end all obviously but rents can be extortionate)

Mainly my point was that even if you have a fair bit of money or assets if you split it equally between grandchildren as many do it might not go that far anyway (particularly if you are trying to rent or buy in London which seems to be dispropportionately expensive)

I think it is up to us to decide what to do with our money not the government. Circumstances can be different for all sorts of reasons. It is our money, hard earned, surely we know how to spend our money and where to leave it.
Now, where is that travel brochure?

Another logistical issue with this is age of grandchildren. If they are all really young it will be down to their parents to work out what to do with the money anyway (you can go the trusts route but that can be complicated)

Leaving a lot of money to youngsters who have not yet had the opportunity to establish themselves or their careers can be very damaging too. I speak from experience

I can't believe a Government minister said that!

He should mind his own business and leave everyone to decide for themselves - his family circumstances may be vastly different to those of other people.

Not all of us have DC who are in a position to buy their own homes as yet, and those who are may have large mortgages on not very large houses.

And what happens if existing DGC receive a good lump sum from the grandparents, then more DGC arrive posthumously? That would be unfair.

My 2 boys are struggling to get on the housing ladder themselves, so mine would definitely go to them!

I agree, 1 DS safely on ladder, 1 just about to step on and no 3 no where near. It does depend on the age of your GCs as someone said. One of my DSs had a friend who came into a decent sum from his GPs when he turned 18. He spent it all in a matter off months, travel, booze, partying etc. Eventually he had to be rescued because he was living on the streets in Paris. I wonder what his GPs would have thought about their money disappearing so quickly?

Our estate is left to our children equally with the written proviso in our will that if they are able to pass some of it on to their children as circumstances allow then we would like that to happen. I feel they are best placed to decide these things at the time.

When my parents died I passed on a substantial chunk to my DDs. One is rich (due to VERY hard work) and gracefully refused it; one used it towards a deposit for a house in which they now live very happily; and the other has it in the bank ready for the same use when the right house comes up for them.

Following discussion with our children we have made wills leaving our estates to our grandchildren They are in their 20s with debts from university education and little hope of buying property. Hope the money will be useful oneday

I personally have absolutely nothing to leave DC or DGD's. I do think the government should keep their opinions to themselves regardless though

Our estate will go to our children, none of whom are well off. It is up to them to give whatever they like to our DGC but that, IMHO, is how it is meant to be and I certainly do not want or need advice from the government - they've taken enough from me over the years so they can bugger off !

A lot of parents I know have already passed on legacies from their own parents to their children, to help them with housing costs. I've recently done the same - I didn't need the govt. to tell me.
Successive governments would have done better to help lessen housing costs, by enabling/encouraging the building of more homes - and NOT just stacks and stacks of newbuild flats targeted at foreign investors who usually don't live in them or even rent them out,
b) NOT supporting house prices with schemes like Help to Buy - however well intentioned it has only helped to keep prices high around here,
c) stop flogging off council housing! Especially when there are so many families in cramped accommodation, and so many people on waiting lists. Why on earth Labour didn't put a stop to it I will never understand. The housing benefit bill is now I think something like £23 billion a year, much of which goes into the pockets of private landlords, instead of into maintaining and increasing stock. It makes absolutely no,long term sense.