Inheritance Woes (1)

“Sorry I’m late,” Troy apologized to his buddy, Paolo, in a coffee shop. “I was with my lawyer, signing away all my properties to my children.” 

"What?!" Paolo was aghast, “Are you crazy?! Why?” 

“Well, I want to spare them the trouble after my death. You know, inheritance taxes and transfer of deeds are a pain.”  

“Didn’t you hear about what happened to Caloy?” Paolo asked.  

“No, what happened?” 

“He transferred the deed of his big house to his only daughter. A year later, she and her husband asked Caloy to move out and stay in a small condo unit which they rented for him.” 

Dread started to line Troy’s face. Trying to look calm, he said, “Before my wife passed, my children promised her they’d take care of me.”  

“Yeah, our children may not be a problem, but we have no control over their spouses, you know, in-laws,”  Paolo shrugged. 

There are two schools of thought among parents about their investments: 

1) bequeath them, while they are still lucid, to their heirs; 

2) Keep them, so in their sunset years, they still have a hold over their children.    

Material possessions have been, since ancient times, the most common source of conflict among siblings. No wonder parents worry about how they should be left behind. 

Let’s seek Scripture for wisdom about material wealth: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19–20 NLT)

“If you have savings and properties you worked hard for,” my late Mom used to say, “remember that these are grace that you need to bequeath to the needy and church ministries."