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When it comes to passing wealth on to children, Carl Richards, a financial planner and author of The Behavior Gap, is clear that parents should not put off the discussion: âThe best time to learn to have conversations about money with your children is when they are small,â he said. âThe second-best time is now. Youâve just got to have these conversations â and they will be tough.â
Throwing family into the mix can ratchet up tensions around money and the fallout can tear families apart. Last year, a 41-year-old highly educated solicitor failed in a legal bid in the United Kingdom to compel his parents to continue their financial support for him. In another recent case in the U.K., a family racked up considerable legal bills before reaching a settlement with a daughter who had demanded a share of her family home.