Advisors who work with people with affluent parents are stressing more that these clients shouldn't expect an inheritance, and that even this isn't all bad. "I tell clients to hope they will not have to support their aging parents," says Lauren G. Lindsay, a financial advisor in Covington, La.
George Middleton, an advisor in Vancouver, Wash., encourages families to have a multigenerational meeting with an advisor, accountant, attorney and psychologist to talk about the inheritance and its consequences. "In most cases, the heirs don't know what will happen until the death occurs, and this is kind of like a pre-emptive strike," he says.
Copyright (c) 2010, Dow Jones. For more information about Dow Jones' services for advisors, please click here.