Inheritance in Contemporary America: The Social Dimensions of Giving Across Generations

by Angel, Jacqueline L.

• ISBN13: 9780801887635
• ISBN10: 0801887631
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-01
• Publisher: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV PRESS

Summary

With the baby boom generation on the cusp of retirement, life expectancies on the rise, and the nation's cultural makeup in flux, the United States is faced with social and policy quandaries that demand attention. How are elders to balance the competing claims of helping family members during their lifetime, saving for old age, and planning estates? What roles should the state, family, and individuals play in supporting people during later life? Are new familial gift-giving trends sustainable, and, if so, what effects might they have on future generations? Inheritance in Contemporary America tackles the complex legal, policy, and emotional issues that surround bequests and inheritances in an era of increasing longevity, broadening ethnicity, and unraveling social safety nets. Through empirical analyses, case studies, interviews, and anecdotes, Jacqueline L. Angel explains the historical nature of familial giving and how it is changing as the nation's demographics shift. She explores the legal, personal, and policy complexities involved in passing wealth down through generations and provides a cross-disciplinary context for exploring the indelible effects that newly unfolding inheritance practices will have on various societal cohorts and the nation in general. From nuclear and extended families to the state and nongovernmental bodies, Angel's engaging study explores how attitudes toward giving are evolving and confronts in stark terms the legacy that these shifts in attitude will leave. This book will be a vital tool for scholars and practitioners in gerontology, sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, and public policy.

Author Biography

Jacqueline L. Angel is a professor of sociology at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and the coauthor of Who Will Care for Us? Aging and Long-term Care in Multicultural America.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
The Story of Inheritance: Intergenerational Giving in Aging America	p. 1
Trends in Wealth Transfers	p. 4
The Aging American Family	p. 4
The Inheritance Revolution	p. 10
The Origins of Our Inheritance Laws	p. 11
Early America	p. 12
Forging a New Path: Women and Inheritance Laws	p. 14
Inheritance in Modern America	p. 16
Family and Inheritance Changes	p. 19
Decisions about Inheritance	p. 20
The Political Realities of Retirement Security	p. 24
Who Is Going to Care for Us?	p. 25
The Political Economy of Giving and Receiving	p. 25
The Legacy of the Modern Welfare State	p. 27
The Dilemma	p. 29
Employer Pension versus Personal Savings	p. 30
Cross-National Research	p. 32
Dimensions of Giving between Generations	p. 36
The Joy of Giving	p. 37
Theoretical Perspectives on Money: Good versus Evil?	p. 41
Contemporary Studies of Money	p. 42
Gifts as Assistance	p. 43
Contextualizing Gift Giving	p. 47
Simply Love	p. 48
Fellowship for Funds	p. 48
Giving, Not Receiving	p. 49
The Family Life Cycle and Inheritance	p. 54
Money Memories: Narratives of the Meaning of Giving and Receiving	p. 58
History Lessons	p. 58
The Silent Generation	p. 59
Baby Boomers	p. 60
Expanding Obligations Equal Shrinking Inheritances	p. 62
Drawing Down Assets	p. 63
Deciding Too Late or Not at All	p. 64
Family Disagreements	p. 65
Background on the Interviews	p. 65
Early Beginnings of Family Dynamics and Money	p. 67
Money as a Gift	p. 67
Money with Strings Attached	p. 70
How Money Matters	p. 71
The Costs of Wealth	p. 73
A Guarded Secret	p. 74
The Value of Gifts	p. 75
Contemporary Values and Beliefs regarding Intergenerational Transfers	p. 77
It Isn't Just Money	p. 77
Family Values and Ideologies	p. 78
Leaving a Legacy	p. 80
Transferring Assets	p. 81
Inter Vivos Exchanges	p. 82
Children Helping Parents	p. 84
Choosing Inheritance	p. 85
Challenges to Family Ideologies	p. 86
To Give or Not to Give, That Is the Question	p. 89
Leaving a Legacy: Personal Security, Family Obligations, and the State	p. 92
The Effects of Public Policy on Family Gift Giving	p. 93
How Estate Taxes Vary	p. 94
Estate Taxes and Exemptions	p. 95
Estate Planning for the Family	p. 98
Private Long-term Care Insurance	p. 101
Estate Recovery and Related Long-term Care Financing Issues	p. 102
Inter Vivos Transfers and Inheritance	p. 103
The Impact of Gift Giving on the Family: What Helps? What Hurts?	p. 104
Myths and Realities of Making a Will	p. 106
Inheritance and the Next Generation of Old-Age Policies	p. 111
The New Status Quo	p. 112
Sorting Out the Debate	p. 114
Possible Scenarios	p. 116
The Politics of Social Security Reform	p. 119
The Face of the Future Workforce	p. 122
Policy Options: Public, Private, and Combined	p. 123
Health Care Insecurity	p. 127
Implications and Conclusions	p. 131
Summary and New Directions for Research	p. 134
The Demography of Gift Giving in Late Life	p. 136
Should Women Worry about Their Retirement?	p. 137
Generational Differences: Money Memories and Family Ideology	p. 140
An Agenda for Future Research	p. 142
Methodology	p. 147
Questions Used in Semistructured
In-Depth Interview	p. 150
Bibliography	p. 151
Index	p. 173
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