To avoid your children’s inheritance becoming a curse instead of a blessing requires a process of passing on skills and wisdom before you pass on possessions.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Prov. 22:6

Bill Gates has gone on record to say that his children will only inherit U$ 10 million of his estate which is currently (2020) estimated at U$ 97 billion (yes, nine zeros). The founder of one of the largest technology companies in the world also did not allow his children to have cellphones until the age of 14. The reason? He wanted to shape his children’s character.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10)

If your teenage son squanders his allowance in the first few days after receiving it, chances are that he will do the same with his salary one day when he is “all grown up”. It is us as parents’ responsibility to train our kids whilst we have the opportunity to do so.

Once trained the next phase will be to test their capabilities and faithfulness with something small, building up to more and bigger responsibilities and ultimately, only once proven faithful, can we include them in our Will to receive an inheritance.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 “Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.” (… and money doesn’t.)

In short – Leaving an inheritance is a process, not an event, nor a simple document.