Cliff-side Villa - $10M In The Bank — With No Heirs. Who Should Get My Fortune?

I’m 79, Live In A Cliff-side Villa In California And Have $10M In The Bank — With No Heirs. Who Should Get My Fortune?

Christy Bieber  Tue, December 17, 2024   Moneywise

A 79-year-old in a villa with $10 million in the bank has a very large potential legacy to leave — but what if there's no obvious person to leave it to?

In His Situation, You Must Take Action.

You need to make an estate plan. Otherwise, default intestacy laws apply. These kick in when someone dies without a will. The law dictates who will inherit, starting with closest relatives and proceeding to more distant relations. However, if no relatives are found, the funds could go to the state.

So how to find a place to leave $10 million after you’re gone? It’s a good problem to have. Read on to find out some potential solutions.

Why wait until you die?

First things first: Remember you do not have to wait until you die to give money away.

Of course, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of funds to live on and cover medical costs that could climb as you get older. However, $10 million plus a cliffside villa means you have more than enough to provide for yourself for the rest of your life.

Rather than waiting until you pass on, why not do something with that cash now? If you have the interest, time and desire, you could start a charitable foundation of your own. Or you could do things like arrange a scholarship fund with your alma mater, fund a project for a cause you care about, or do anything else you desire.

With a fortune as large as yours, you could contribute an endowment fund to a university, arts organization, research center or other institution. That would allow your investment to grow over time and continually be put back into the community in perpetuity.

Giving a gift to a charity now rather than after you die would allow you to see the benefits of your contributions in real time. That could be one of the best uses of your funds.

Read more: I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 3 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast)

Use The Right Estate Planning Tools

Whether or not you decide to give away some cash before you die, the fact remains that you're likely to still pass on with a lot of money left over. If that's the case, working with an estate planning lawyer to decide what to do with it is likely the best move.

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