If you don’t reverse mortgage or downsize, you can keep your home equity intact for insurance against long-term care. If it turns out you don’t need long-term care, your children may be happy to inherit the value of your home after you go.
Most inheritances are accidental bequests composed of left-over retirement money and home equity. Without a viable national long-term care insurance program or secure pensions, planning to not leave a bequest makes sense for most Americans. The best financial plan would be to spend your last dollar on the day you die, but no one knows when that day will come and no one wants to outlive their money.
Given the fragile state of most Americans retirement accounts, the most likely situation is that older Americans will be relying on their adult children for financial help. If you can avoid putting that burden on your kids, you’ve done enough. Don’t worry about what you can’t leave behind.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.