What are the best gifts for a recovering alcoholic? If you have a mother recovering from an addiction, you can surprise her with a beautiful, heartfelt gift.
Sometimes it’s not always an easy task to find the perfect gift.
What Type of Assets Can Children Inherit?
As you get ready to prepare a will and perhaps a trust, it’s important to know what type of assets can children inherit? The simple answer is that if the children or grandchildren you want to leave money to are minors, there is little they can inherit outright at that age. However, when they reach the age of majority, they are free to inherit everything you leave to them. The questions then become, how early do you want them to receive the money once they reach majority and how much control do you want the custodian to have over their financial decisions.
What Type of Assets Can Children Inherit?
Children can inherit whatever assets you would like to leave them after they reach the age of majority. In general, if the child is still a minor, you can determine three ways they receive your assets.
A Will
The simplest (and cheapest) option is to just set up a will for your child. You assign a custodian to raise your children. However, the will must go through probate, and the court, not the custodian, will have control of the money until the children reach majority, which is 18 or 21 depending on the state you live in. Then, the children are free to use the money as they see fit.
A Revocable Living Trust
When you set this up, all of your assets go into the revocable living trust, and you can use the money and assets as you like when you’re alive. When you die, the revocable living trust seamlessly changes hands to the designated trustee. You can give very clear terms for your trustee such as stipulating a child who is an alcoholic, drug addict or gambler will not receive the money. Likewise, you could say that the child can have $15K a year from the trust. Or you can say that the money must be used for college.
Then, the trustee just executes your terms.
An Irrevocable Trust
The last option is to set up an irrevocable trust. If you chose this option, make sure you’re certain because an irrevocable trust is permanent. If you put $500K in an irrevocable trust for your grandson, you can’t change your mind later because you no longer want him to have the money. What is done is done. However, like a revocable living trust, you can have a say in when the minor child will receive the money and how.
There are some benefits to this type of trust because it can lower your estate tax burden, and it can lower your assets if you need, for instance, nursing home care.
Final Thoughts
If you’re wondering what type of assets can children inherit, the simple answer is not much while they’re minors. However, you can set up one of the three options above for your minor children. Once they reach majority (for wills) or the age that you designate (for trusts), they can start receiving their inheritance. While there are benefits to each of the three types, there are also drawbacks, so consider carefully which one to set up for both yourself and your minor children or grandchildren.
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.
How to Prepare Your Child for a Root Canal
Did you know that around two-thirds of adults are afraid of going to the dentist?
For many people, this fear stems from bad experiences that happened as a child. If you want to encourage your children to maintain their oral health through adulthood, helping them have positive experiences at the dentist is crucial.
9 Healthy and Refreshing Kindergarten Lunch Box Ideas
Every parent feels the strain of having too much to do and too little time for it all. Packing healthy lunches for your child is just one more task on the to-do list. Let’s be honest, there are only so many times your child will eat peanut butter and jelly before they rebel.
Parenting Win: Teaching Money Skills to Your Kids
Did you know that one out of four adults in the US said they didn’t learn about finances growing up? Consider teaching your kids the importance of budgeting and saving. They will be better equipped, going off on their own after graduation.
Boredom Busters: Top Card Games of 2020
Looking for ways to spice up your family game night? If so, you may want to go back to the tried-and-true well of card games.
Whether you’re on the road or at home, card games remain a great family diversion. You have many options to choose from, from the classic Uno to new entrants such as Exploding Kittens. The only real question is: how much free time do you have?
How to Save Hundreds on Diapers
You might have seen those scary numbers that tell you the cost to raise a child is over $200,000 from the time of birth until the age of 18. While there are plenty of ways to cut costs when raising your children, there’s one expense that hits you as soon as your child is born—the cost of diapers. We had two kids in diapers for 1.5 years, and I remember being so glad when they were potty trained as we got a large chunk of our budget back. While there’s no way to avoid this expense, there people do learn how to save hundreds on diapers.
How to Save Hundreds on Diapers
There are many techniques you can use to save, but you’ll save even more if you put several of the strategies together.
Use Cloth Diapers
The best way to save is to use cloth diapers. Most people dismiss this idea because cloth diapers aren’t allowed at daycare. If that’s the case, use cloth diapers at home and buy disposable for daycare. You’ll still see significant savings this way.
Buy Cloth Diapers on eBay
I cloth diapered my son almost exclusively. I bought several lots of used cloth diapers on eBay with mixed results. I ended up with some very nice diapers, but I also ended up with some worn out diapers that I couldn’t use.
Do Your Research First
If you’re going the eBay route, first research which diapers you’d like to use. (There are so many brands of cloth diapers with so many different features. Cloth diapering is not like it was 30 years ago!)
If you buy new, your diapers will likely last through several of your children.
If you buy used, check the quality description carefully. You don’t want to end up with diapers that have very little life left.
How to Save on Disposable Diapers
There are quite a few strategies to save money on disposable diapers. Use as many as you can to save even more.
Buy Off Brand Diapers If You Can
Of course, the biggest diaper brands, Huggies and Pampers, cost the most. However, there are many off brand diapers that are much cheaper than the big brands. Look for Target Up and Up diapers, Walmart’s White Cloud diapers, or Luvs. Likewise, Walgreen’s and CVS each have their own house brand of diapers that are cheaper, too.
Use Amazon Subscribe & Save
If you have an Amazon Prime account, make sure to use subscribe & save. When you go to put the diapers in your cart, you’ll see an option to make a one-time purchase or to make the item subscribe & save. Thanks to Amazon Family, when you choose subscribe & save, you save 20% off your diaper purchase every time. You just have to make sure you have five or more products on auto-delivery at the same time to the same address. (FYI, baby food is also included in the eligible products list, so you can save there, too.)
Use Coupons
There are many, many coupons for diapers. You can check out Coupons.com, Ibotta, or Checkout 51 for diaper coupons. You can also email the company and sign up for their email. (Luvs is known to be especially generous with their coupons when you sign up for their mailing list.) Even Costco and Amazon have coupons for their diapers occasionally.
A Covert Way to Save
Diaper packages generally have a size range. For instance, Huggies Snug & Dry size 2 one-month supply has 222 diapers in a box and fit babies weighing 12 to 18 pounds. Size 3 of the same has 200 diapers and fits babies 16 to 28 pounds. Some moms save money by keeping their child in the smaller size diaper as long as they can because you get more diapers per purchase in the smaller size.
You’ll know it’s time to move up to the bigger diaper size when your baby has frequent leaks or blow outs.
Build a Diaper Stash
Another option is to build a diaper stash before baby is born and when you can find diapers at a great price.
Some women ask each person attending their baby shower to bring a box of diapers or wipes. Other women start stocking up the minute they find out they’re pregnant. (You can find quite a few good sales on diapers in nine month’s time and end up with a nice diaper stash.) If you’re not sure what sizes to buy, there’s a handy chart one mom created documenting how many diapers in each size her daughter used during her first year.
One caveat here—be careful building a diaper stash. I’m actually glad I never built a diaper stash. Why? All my kids were born over nine pounds and didn’t even fit in the newborn size diapers. Second, one of my children had very chunky legs, so Pampers’ slimmer cut didn’t fit her well. We had to keep her in Huggies. If I would have stocked up on Pampers, I would have lost all of that money. Some babies are allergic to some diapers, so those can’t be used. For these reasons, I’d actually discourage new moms from building a diaper stash.
Buy in Bulk
If you can afford it, buying diapers in bulk is the way to go. The bigger the box you can afford, the less you pay per diaper. Costco is a great place to buy diapers if you don’t have an Amazon Prime account. Target also has sales for boxes of diapers where you buy a certain amount in diapers, say $100, and then you get a $25 gift card. This deal gives you a great incentive to buy in bulk. (Don’t forget to get and use the Target Red card to save 5% off your purchase.)
Final Thoughts
While diapers are expensive, there are strategies to learn how to save hundreds on diapers. Use some or most of these techniques and see how much you save. And remember, while diapers are a big expense temporarily, this expense will usually go away in three years. Then, it’s on to the next expense for you child.
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.
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Have you ever made an error on your taxes, missed a year, or lost some of your tax paperwork?
If so, you’re not alone — those are some of the most common tax mistakes. But if you’re running a small business, any tax errors could cost you serious money.
5 Deliciously Bold Espresso Drink Recipes You Can Make at Home
Coffee has taken off around the globe, with sales during 2019 topping $48 billion in the United States alone.
Whether you’re already a hardened coffee fan, or just discovering the joys of coffee culture, you could do with some inspiration on how to maximize the experience.
How to Help Your Teen Create Healthy Sleep Habits
Despite needing over 9 hours of sleep a night, your teen is likely getting closer to only 7 hours, and that’s a huge problem.
Sleep deprivation in teens affects their mental health and their ability to focus on their studies. It can make them more prone to depression and anxiety.
Internet Safety for Children: Protection from Inappropriate Content
More avenues for children are going digital, making internet safety for them crucial. Parents must understand how to protect the kids when they are online.
5 Amazing Steps on How to Decorate a Lovely Bedroom Space
Are you having problems with the design of your bedroom? Do you want to turn it from an old design into a new style? Well, there are many easy steps you can do to turn your bedroom into a unique one. One way to do it is by using creative arts.
The main question here is; What kind of art do you need to hang in your bedroom? What is the best thing to do to fill a space?
To help you solve each question, we’ve come up with some easy and unique bedroom wall decor ideas you can use. Here’s how to decorate a bedroom.
