Inheritance in Contemporary America - The Social Dimensions of Giving across Generations

Preface xi 1 The Story of Inheritance: Intergenerational Giving in Aging America 1 Trends in Wealth Transfers 4 The Aging American Family 4 2 The Inheritance Revolution 10 The Origins of Our Inheritance Laws 11 Early America 12 Forging a New Path: Women and Inheritance Laws 14 Inheritance in Modern America 16 Family and Inheritance Changes 19 Decisions about Inheritance 20 3 The Political Realities of Retirement Security 24 Who Is Going to Care for Us? 25 The Political Economy of Giving and Receiving 25 The Legacy of the Modern Welfare State 27 The Dilemma 29 Employer Pension versus Personal Savings 30 Cross-National Research 32 4 Dimensions of Giving between Generations 36 The Joy of Giving 37 Theoretical Perspectives on Money: Good versus Evil? 41 Contemporary Studies of Money 42 Gifts as Assistance 43 Contextualizing Gift Giving 47 Simply Love 48 Fellowship for Funds 48 Giving, Not Receiving 49 The Family Life Cycle and Inheritance 54 5 Money Memories: Narratives of the Meaning of Giving and Receiving 58 History Lessons 58 The Silent Generation 59 Baby Boomers 60 Expanding Obligations Equal Shrinking Inheritances 62 Drawing Down Assets 63 Deciding Too Late or Not at All 64 Family Disagreements 65 Background on the Interviews 65 Early Beginnings of Family Dynamics and Money 67 Money as a Gift 67 Money with Strings Attached 70 How Money Matters 71 The Costs of Wealth 73 A Guarded Secret 74 The Value of Gifts 75 6 Contemporary Values and Beliefs regarding Intergenerational Transfers 77 It Isn't Just Money 77 Family Values and Ideologies 78 Leaving a Legacy 80 Transferring Assets 81 Inter Vivos Exchanges 82 Children Helping Parents 84 Choosing Inheritance 85 Challenges to Family Ideologies 86 To Give or Not to Give, 'that Is the Question 89 7 Leaving a Legacy: Personal Security, Family Obligations, and the State 92 The Effects of Public Policy on Family Gift Giving 96 How Estate Taxes Vary 94 Estate Taxes and Exemptions 95 Estate Planning for the Family 98 Private Long-term Care Insurance 101 Estate Recovery and Related Long-term Care Financing Issues 102 Inter Vivos Transfers and Inheritance 103 The Impact of Gift Giving on the Family: What Helps? What Hurts? 104 Myths and Realities of Making a Will 106 8 Inheritance and the Next Generation of Old-Age Policies 111 The New Status Quo 112 Sorting Out the Debate 114 Possible Scenarios 116 The Politics of Social Security Reform 119 The Face of the Future Workforce 122 Policy Options: Public, Private, and Combined 123 Health Care Insecurity 127 Implications and Conclusions 131 9 Summary and New Directions for Research 134 The Demography of Gift Giving in Late Life 136 Should Women Worry about Their Retirement? 137 Generational Differences: Money Memories and Family Ideology 140 An Agenda for Future Research 142 Appendix A. Methodology 147 Appendix B. Questions Used in Semistructured In-Depth Interview 150 Bibliography 151 Index 173