One of the biggest wedges between generations in the US has been forged by avowed Marxists who have co-opted academia. With 95% of the American Federation of Teachers’ membership firmly in the camp of the Democrat party and its president, Randi Weingarten, a registered Communist, the teachers have presided over plummeting academic standards in American science and mathematics. For example, a 2023 TIMMS study showed that 8th graders’ scores have dropped 27 points since 1995. The Marxist theory and propaganda that have replaced science and math mastery has created several generations of Socialists, and many parents are loath to bequeath their hard-earned estates to these children, who will support causes antithetical to their parents’ values. 

“I Don’t Want To Give Them Anything”

A millionaire caller to the Dave Ramsey Show articulated this particular dilemma on air. She noted that she had two daughters who she had been contemplating on how to divide her assets in her will. One daughter was very successful, while the other one was earning a respectable $50,000 salary. However, in recent years, arguments over politics have caused estrangement to the point where she didn’t want to leave them anything because both daughters had become  Socialists. 

The Culture and Political Wedge and Its Effect on Wills

Unless the influence of parental core value teachings has been strong and consistent, many Gen-X and the vast majority of millennials and Gen-Z have been taught in the school system to favor Socialism and Marxist theory, even if at a subliminal level. The wedge in values has affected families of most demographics, regardless of social status or income size. The NY Times even published an article on the issue. 

As a result, the caller is not alone in her dilemma, and the subsequent impact on drafting wills demands a Solomon-like wisdom to resolve such issues as:

• How to thread the needle of balancing the fear of depriving one’s offspring of their inheritance without losing one’s legacy and estate to a despised political ideology? 
• The structure to protect the will from being overturned in probate court, which can often occur if heirs can demonstrate third-party late-stage overt influence on decision-making. 
• Preserving the estate so it remains intact in order for the grandchildren to benefit separately from any control by the children’s generation.   

The Trust as Estate Protection and Connection With Exposure

The caller might want to consider creating a revocable trust that would become irrevocable upon her demise. All of the assets in the trust can be assigned to be managed by closely trusted friends and/or relatives under her guidelines. The structure, depending on its size, provides a wide range of provisions and protections that ensures her wishes will be met, and can include:

• Protection of the daughters from becoming destitute with COLA minimum annual stipends to be disbursed in the event of an emergency or unforeseen hardship.
• Provision of future benefits for both current and future grandchildren. 
• A list of charitable entities that the caller may wish to support, may list houses of worship, relief organizations, or other entities that meet her listed policy criteria. 
• Prohibitions on support for any entity that violates her listed policy criteria.
• Guidelines for investment and continued maintenance of the trust and its assets.
• Safeguards can also be constructed to prevent “gaming” the system from non-family spouses or their relations so that only the caller’s blood issue can be beneficiaries.

If the size of the trust permits, it can also create an optional job (for daughters or grandchildren) with the trust in administrative support to learn about the caller’s core values. If an heir can prove to meet specific criteria benchmarks, then a co-trustee position can potentially be granted. This exposure can serve as an opportunity for heirs to better understand the caller’s motivations, principles, and sense of ethics, even after her demise.

Wills and trusts have long been a plot source for movies with potentially comical (The Bachelor – 1999)  or sinister (Inheritance – 2020) requirements. However, they can be an effective tool to ensure one’s estate has at least a stronger chance of surviving intact for subsequent generations of one’s heirs, regardless of outside cultural and political influence. 

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