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Survey reveals unrealistic inheritance expectations of millennials

A new survey has revealed that some millennials expect a much higher inheritance than they will actually receive, and that they will have to wait longer for it than they imagined.

The survey by wealth manager Charles Stanley revealed that one in seven millennials expect to receive their inheritance before they are 35, when in fact the typical inheritance is received between the age of 55 and 64. Furthermore, young adults responded to the survey that they expected to receive around £130,000, when the median average inheritance is actually £11,000. Approximately 22 per cent of first time buyers in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK are said to be relying on an inheritance to get on the housing ladder, but only 7 per cent will actually receive an inheritance according to official statistics. Furthermore the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest that the inheritance that those 7 per cent will receive will be much less than they expected.

Longer life expectancy has reduced the capacity of people to leave an inheritance as their savings are used for longer to fund their lifestyle, and as such any inheritances that are left are inevitably lower and being passed on much later. Unfortunately it is considered that adults in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK have not reacted with sufficient financial planning to deal with this shift, and the onus is now on first time buyers to save and invest to get on the property ladder.

While the number and size of inheritances may be reducing it is still essential for adults in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to write a Will and not leave the settling of their estate to the government. However, it is still estimated that 30 million adults do not have a Will.

You can take the first step to write a Will today by contacting our Will writing solicitors to request a no-obligation Wills pack with information on the process and the costs involved. Simply click here and we will arrange to send a Wills pack to you.

If you are a first time buyer requiring a property conveyancing solicitor in Northern Ireland click here to get in touch with our residential property team.

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