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

by Jacqueline L. Angel

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801887635
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	01/28/2008
Series:	Gerontology
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.73(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

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
1. The Story of Inheritance: Intergenerational Giving in Aging America
Trands in Wealth Transfers
The Aging American Family
2. The Inheritance Revolution
The Origins of Our Inheritance Laws
Early America
Forging a New Path: Women and Inheritance Laws
Inheritance in Modern America
Family and Inheritance Changes
Decisions about Inheritance
3. The Political Realities of Retirement Security
Who Is Going to Care for Us?
The Political Economy of Giving and Receiving
The Legacy of the Modern Welfare State
The Dilemma
Employer Pension versus Personal Savings
Cross-National Research
4. Dimensions of Giving between Generations
The Joy of Giving
Theoretical Perspectives on Money: Good versus Evil?
Contemporary Studies of Money
Gifts as Assistance
Contextualizing Gift Giving
Simply Love
Fellowship for Funds
Giving, Not Receiving
The Family Life Cycle and Inheritance
5. Money Memories: Narratives of the Meaning of Giving and Receiving
History Lessons
The Silent Generation
Baby Boomers
Expanding Obligations Equal Shrinking Inheritances
Drawing Down Assets
Deciding Too Late or Not at All
Family Disagreements
Background on the Interviews
Early Beginnings of Family Dynamics and Money
Money as a Gift
Money with Strings Attached
How Money Matters
The Costs of Wealth
A Guarded Secret
The Value of Gifts
6. Contemporary Values and Beliefs regarding Intergenerational Transfers
It Isn't Just Money
Family Values and Ideologies
Leaving a Legacy
Transferring Assets
Inter Vivos Exchanges
Children Helping Parents
Choosing Inheritance
Challenges to Family Ideologies
To Give or Not to Give, That Is the Question
7. Leaving a Legacy: Personal Security, Family Obligations, and the State
The Effects of Public Policy on Family Gift Giving
How Estate Taxes Vary
Estate Taxes and Exemptions
Estate Planning for the Family
Private Long-term Care Insurance
Estate Recovery and Related Long-term Care Financing Issues
Inter Vivos Transfers and Inheritance
The Impact of Gift Giving on the Family: What Helps? What Hurts?
Myths and Realities of Making a Will
8. Inheritance and the Next Generation of Old-Age Policies
The New Status Quo
Sorting Out the Debate
Possible Scenarios
The Politics of Social Security Reform
The Face of the Future Workforce
Policy Options: Public, Private, and Combined
Health Care Insecurity
Implications and Conclusions
9. Summary and New Directions for Research
The Demography of Gift Giving in Late Life
Should Women Worry about Their Retirement?
Generational Differences: Money Memories and Family Ideology
An Agenda for Future Research
Appendix A: Methodology
Appendix B: Questions Used in Semistructured In-depth Interview
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Vern L. Bengtson

Inheritance in Contemporary America is socially relevant, the writing is clear, and to my knowledge there is no other book like it.

— Vern L. Bengtson, Ph.D., AARP/University Professor of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

From the Publisher

Inheritance in Contemporary America is socially relevant, the writing is clear, and to my knowledge there is no other book like it.
—Vern L. Bengtson, Ph.D., AARP/University Professor of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Editorial Reviews

This timely and important book breaks new ground. Given the complex factors that influence inheritance decisions and behavior, it is not surprising that few books have been published on this topic. Comprehensive and thorough, Jacqueline L. Angel helps open new windows to understanding the ways we think about our gift-giving behaviors in late life and their effect on personal legacy.
—The Gerontologist

Provides a good overview of some central questions regarding the role of gifts and bequests in the social fabric.
—Jens Beskert, American Journal of Sociology

From the Publisher

This timely and important book breaks new ground. Given the complex factors that influence inheritance decisions and behavior, it is not surprising that few books have been published on this topic. Comprehensive and thorough, Jacqueline L. Angel helps open new windows to understanding the ways we think about our gift-giving behaviors in late life and their effect on personal legacy.

The Gerontologist

Provides a good overview of some central questions regarding the role of gifts and bequests in the social fabric.

American Journal of Sociology - Jens Beskert

Provides a good overview of some central questions regarding the role of gifts and bequests in the social fabric.

— Jens Beskert

American Journal of Sociology