You have two primary options for leaving an inheritance to a child. The most straightforward is to give it to them in a single lump sum, with no strings attached. But this might not be the best option for some children. You may be concerned about the child’s ability to handle the money responsibly, fear they will spend it in pursuit of a cause you do not support, want to avoid the need for a court-ordered conservatorship to manage the funds if the children are minors, or have some other reason for wanting to set conditions on their inheritance.
Estate planning lets you control from beyond the grave who receives your money, when they receive it, and how they may use it. If you wish to restrict the flow of inherited money to your child, you can do so through your will or trust. While there are legal limits on conditional gifting, you are generally free to structure an inheritance the way you would like.
Questions about whether a conditional gift is legally enforceable should be discussed with an estate planning attorney.
