What is an "average" inheritance?

[QueenIsabella]

Of course there is. It may be meaningless or irrelevant or skewed, but there is an average (can always get a mean and median of a bunch of values).

I suspect what that poster means is, there's no typical inheritance. As you said, there is a mean and median, and the numbers are likely to be meaningless. If I inherit $1M, and you inherit $0, our "average" is $500,000, but that doesn't help you get that oceanfront house you've been eyeing.

 

[srpresto]

My parents retired a few years ago and took a different approach. They have plenty of money to live on (until age 107, then apparently they run out). They want to give us something, but don't want my sister and I to wait until they die to inherit. They set up roth iras for each of us and put a small amount in every year. It is a great gift. My sister and I are both in our 40s, both have bought our houses, we don't need a leg up on anything later (and hopefully it will be much later when we inherit). It gives my parents comfort about our future. I had my own 401k for years before, and am on track for my own retirement, but the extra is always welcome.

 

[HHMcG]

My grandfathers passed well before my grandmothers. Paternal grandmother passed suddenly around 70 years old and left a nest egg and home to my dad and his sister. After expenses each grandchild (5) received 5k and her two children each inherited $100k+. Maternal grandmother outlived any small saving she had, living to 98. I inherited her recipe box and that was the most valuable thing left.

My parents and my FIL (MIL passed 6 years ago) both have nest eggs and fully paid houses. They are able to live off their pensions and haven't touched those nest eggs (FIL even keeps adding to his). Inheritance from any of them just depends on their health.
At 70-years old, my father will need a nursing home soon. It is odd to say, but I can't wait for my mom to start spending that money because she is hurting herself caring for him even with aids help. My dad would desperately want to leave us a significant inheritance (like he received) but my parents health and comfort has to come first. I expect my mom to live a long time (it runs in her family) and outlive her savings.
My FIL is a pretty healthy 80-year old. So we will see what happens there.

 

[QueenIsabella]

My grandfathers passed well before my grandmothers. Paternal grandmother passed suddenly around 70 years old and left a nest egg and home to my dad and his sister. After expenses each grandchild (5) received 5k and her two children each inherited $100k+. Maternal grandmother outlived any small saving she had, living to 98. I inherited her recipe box and that was the most valuable thing left.

My parents and my FIL (MIL passed 6 years ago) both have nest eggs and fully paid houses. They are able to live off their pensions and haven't touched those nest eggs (FIL even keeps adding to his). Inheritance from any of them just depends on their health.
At 70-years old, my father will need a nursing home soon. It is odd to say, but I can't wait for my mom to start spending that money because she is hurting herself caring for him even with aids help. My dad would desperately want to leave us a significant inheritance (like he received) but my parents health and comfort has to come first. I expect my mom to live a long time (it runs in her family) and outlive her savings.
My FIL is a pretty healthy 80-year old. So we will see what happens there.

Isn't it funny how people think! My MIL fell, broke her hip, and went in to assisted living in 10/15 at age 84. She was doing okay, until 7/17, when she had a bad fall--6 broken bones. She died a week later, in her apartment. Come to find out, she'd had long-term care insurance, but had never pulled the trigger on it--she was saving it for when things got bad. I know she was worried about long-term debilitating need--a stroke, cancer--that never materialized. But it's kind of funny that a broken hip, and even the nasty fall weren't bad enough, in her mind, to spend down the insurance. After several months of wrangling, the estate managed to get some insurance $$ posthumously, which is nice, but seriously, MIL? It just didn't get bad enough for you? OTOH, we're grateful that she didn't linger and suffer with something awful, but geez!