Will your children inherit all of your assets after you're gone? Or do you have other plans?

It's a simple question that I posed in the Personal Finance section of Morningstar.com's Discuss Forum boards, but many of the responses were nuanced. Many parents said that they had specified in their estate plans that any assets left over upon their deaths be split equally among their children--end of story.

Others, meanwhile, said they had no plans to leave money to their kids. Some of these respondents said they wanted their kids to be self-sufficient, so they had earmarked those assets for other entities; other posters said they aren't counting on having much, if anything, left over.

Readers' responses also touched on the ability of children and other loved ones to manage inherited assets; several respondents said they had employed trusts and other mechanisms to help ensure prudent financial management.

To read the complete thread or share your own approach to this important topic, click here (http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=697302).

'I Intend to Spend Down the Entire Sum to the Best of My Ability'
On the question of whether leaving a financial legacy for their kids was important to them, some posters were unequivocal: No.

Dndhatcher wrote, "I had a couple friends in college that were just getting by, doing as little as possible, waiting until they get their inheritance and became wealthy. I don't want my children to live like that. They have been told we expect them to have self-sufficient lifestyles and not [to] count on a large inheritance to make their lives easy."

RockySmith and spouse have specified that each child will receive half of their assets upon the last spouse's death, but they're not planning to leave anything behind. "I am 45 and intend to have $2 to $3 million by retirement. I also intend to spend down the entire sum to the best of my ability before I go. I tell my kids not to plan on getting anything. If they are banking on a substantial inheritance, I am afraid they won't work as hard and won't be self-reliant, and these traits could be passed to their kids. Raising my kids to expect they will be money-rich regardless of their accomplishments or effort might be a poor legacy."

Myshkin is simply not optimistic there will be much left over. "I only wish my estate was going to be large enough for this to be an issue," this poster wrote. "After my spouse and I both pass, it will be divided among our surviving heirs, per stirpes. In the unlikely event of a global economic liftoff, their inheritance may be somewhat better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Realistically speaking, if both my spouse and I attain our projected life spans and there is a more realistic global economic outcome, the estate may be able to provide them with a nice vacation, or a night on the town."

Chains' plan is no doubt common among many readers: The kids will get anything that's left over, but long-term care costs could gobble it all up first. "With a relatively modest net worth of $2 million, we have told our kids that since we have no long-term-care insurance there is a chance that the amount left to them could be substantial or nothing; it just depends on our health as we age. As we get closer to our 80s, our plan is to begin gifting what we believe we can afford to each child and to our two grandchildren."

Yogiman quipped, "The nursing home will take it all."

Texasboy expects to leave something behind for his daughters, but would prefer they operated as if they were getting nothing. "[My] two recently married daughters … are designated as 50-50 beneficiaries on everything after both my wife and I are gone," this poster wrote. "But they don't know the values and have been told to live their lives with the expectation that nothing will be there upon our exits."

'I Feel It Is My Responsibility to Leave Something for Him'
For other individuals, not leaving assets to children was a cinch: They don't have any kids! Siblings, nieces and nephews, and charities were among the beneficiaries cited by such individuals.

Camaro68 wrote, "As it stands now, single, I would leave the majority to immediate family and charitable organizations ... and plan to be very picky with the organizations, as I think several are very large and the money wouldn't probably go to benefiting my community."

Caserojj, who's also single, intends to leave any remaining assets to a sibling, or charity if the sibling dies earlier. "Right now all of my retirement assets and my company's insurance policy are designated to go to my brother. He is the black swan in the family ... never finished school, cannot hold a job, and has other emotional problems. I feel it is my responsibility to leave something for him if I go first. If he goes first, then I will designate a large fraction of my assets just before or after I die to the T. Rowe Price charitable trust."

Chief K also intends for the bulk of his estate to pass to his siblings, both of whom will benefit from financial help. The remaining 25% of his assets will go to nieces and nephews, who "are young enough (but far from youthful) to use a couple thousand each to pump up their retirement savings. ?Or they can use it for a down payment on a sports car."

A1B2C3, also without kids, wrote, "Any money left over after I'm gone will be split evenly between surviving siblings and whoever is 'there for me' in a way that improves my quality of life when I'm nearing my end."

'It Is Important to Us That Our Kids Benefit From Our Good Fortune'
Among individuals with children, a common arrangement was to leave equal shares of any remaining assets to their children.

Island put it simply. "Leaving money to our two sons, 50-50, is a major part of our financial plan. It is important to us that our kids benefit from our good fortune."

C F S has no qualms about leaving it all to the kids, either. "I am not ashamed to say that we do not plan to leave money behind for other individuals or charities [other than our children]; we are helping family members and making charitable donations while we are alive."

FD1000 joked, "After we pass away, I will set up an ATM on my grave that will give my kids $1000 a month. This way I can be sure they will come to visit me monthly."

Several of these parents said they had wrestled with whether to treat children differently from the standpoint of their estate plans.

Ultimately deciding on equal shares was Juris2, who wrote, "Our plan is to leave whatever is left after we both pass to our two children, split 50-50. This is what our own parents did for us … Child A doesn't need any of our money. Child B is much more needy. But we think they have an equal claim to a share of our estate."

Also going with an equal split--for now--is Grayspokes, "We're currently set to bequeath 50-50 to our two kids, young adults in the second half of their 20s. My wife and I may revisit that. One child is well set. The other has some disabilities and does not appear to have the potential upsides that the other one does. We may speak to the one who's 'set' about not dividing our estate 50-50, but setting aside something in trust to provide for the 'unset' one."

'We Have Not Made Any Provision for Grandchildren in Our Wills'
For Joseps82 and spouse, remaining assets will be split 50-50: one half going to children and the other to grandchildren.

But other parents said that even though they have grandchildren, too, they had not made specific provisions for them in the will. Instead, funding 529 college-savings plans on behalf of grandchildren was a common technique.

Proudcapitalist wrote, "I think doing anything except dividing ones assets between children is likely to cause resentment. We plan to help our grandkids while we are still around by setting up college-savings plans, etc."

Corcomroe is on the same page. "While we have helped fund 529 plans for grandchildren during our lifetimes, we have not made any provision for grandchildren in our wills."

Island agreed, writing, "I do not believe grandparents should get too involved in the finances of minor grandchildren. We are giving our sons each a 529 that will probably cover one child for each, but if we live to see grandchildren, the most I would leave them directly is maybe $10,000 each, and then only if I was confident they would use it wisely."

'I Plan to Leave the Estate in a Trust'
Several posters said that they're employing trusts to help safeguard inherited assets.

For Seaside1, the legal protections offered by trusts are a key benefit. "Upon both of our deaths, our son will receive 100% of the assets remaining in our trusts in the form of a springing trust created for him. He will be the trustee of that trust. Our estate plans have been set up by our estate attorney to protect our family's assets from any legal claims (such as divorce) that could arise in the future against our son."

Wilmer is using a trust, which will be professionally managed on behalf of his children, rather than giving money to the kids outright. "I plan to leave the estate in a trust for both of my children to live off of 50-50 until their passing. The yield from the estate will likely double their yearly incomes as of this time. Upon their passing, the estate will be given to charity. While I love my children dearly, they couldn't yet manage the financial affairs responsibly."

FLstategrunt has put in provisions that will allow his daughter to inherit assets very gradually, as she proves herself capable. "Since there is a good chance [my daughter] will be a minor when I go, when my wife also passes, all but our IRAs will go to a trust for her support. If she has earned a bachelor's degree by 25 and passed at least six credit hours of investment and personal finance courses, she can draw 25% of the principal. If prudently handled, another 25% at 30 and the rest at 35. If she does not meet the requirements, the trustee retains control until 44."

Win1177, who already has set up a special-needs trust for a disabled child, is also mulling whether trusts could help his other children get comfortable managing money. "I may set up trusts for both remaining kids that pays out gradually, to keep them from burning through money. Hopefully [we] have many more years to figure this out. But may revisit our estate plan in next 2-3 years."

'We Have Begun to Add Other Beneficiaries'
Other parents said they were balancing bequests to children with bequests to other individuals and entities.

Geraldtucker wrote, "Both of our daughters have graduated from university and are financially independent; we have one grandson and hope for more. So, of our net estate, 10% [goes] to daughters, 20% [goes] in trust for development of grandchildren, [and] 70% is divided between an environment-related charity and a university for environment-related purposes."

Uintah and spouse plan to leave half of their assets to their children and the other half to other individuals and charities. "Both of our wills provide for percentage distributions to short lists of charities, and also to several relatives and close friends. Our two children are to receive the balance of the assets passing under our wills--part when the first partner dies, and the rest after the death of the surviving spouse. They are also designated as the eventual beneficiaries of our IRA accounts. However, as our IRA assets have grown, we have begun to add other beneficiaries as well."

Employing a similar setup is ctyankee, who wrote, "Twenty percent of my assets by the time I reach 70 will go to charity; some of that is already in the works. The majority of this will be in the form of highly appreciated assets."