When Juliann Reynolds created her estate plan, she worried what would happen if her daughter received her full inheritance at the age of 18. In order to avoid this fate, Reynolds staggered her daughter’s inheritance so that she would not have full access to the trust until she was in her 40s. A recent article discussed Renolds’ reasoning, as well as the growing trend of staggering inheritance. One benefit of staggering inheritance is that you can attempt to provide your child with money for various life events, such as going to college, getting married, and purchasing a home. Moreover, young adults are maturing much later, as major life events such as beginning a career and having children tend to happen much later than they did for previous generations. Currently, almost 30% of Americans age 25-34 live with their parents. This number jumped 11% since 1980. The average age of a person at their first marriage has also jumped, and is now 27 for women and 29 for men. Due to this later maturity, baby boomers believe that the younger generations will waste their inheritances. Therefore, approximately 35% of those planning their estate plans now are implementing strategies to avoid beneficiary mismanagement. For expert assistance in setting up an inheritance plan for your beneficiaries, please contact us at 818.956.9200.