For many grandparents, the decision of where to live in retirement is most influenced by where their grandchildren life, as well as their need for child care.
Where to live in retirement may well be a two-step process, with one location in early retirement when you are healthy and independent, and another later on when you may need assistance.
About a dozen years ago a woman unexpectedly passed away. She was unmarried and had no children. She had named her nephew, John, as the beneficiary of her IRA. John was five years old at the time of his aunt’s death when the IRA held approximately $1.2 million. Now he’s about to turn 18 and will have access to $3 million.
The verse quoted by General Douglas MacArthur in his farewell address to Congress, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away,” applies to many lawyers. Especially those in solo practice or working for small firms often don’t have an exit plan. They continue working, perhaps less, and perhaps taking off several months in Florida or elsewhere warm each winter, as their business trails off.
In his New York Times Magazine “Ethicist” column, the philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah responded to a query from an individual who had inherited a large trust fund and family business when his father died. This person felt uncomfortable with such wealth and largely lived his life as if he were not rich. But a combination of the recent stock market rise pumping up his portfolio and his recognition of the suffering of many people during the pandemic have brought him to the conclusion he should give away a large portion of his wealth.