Sting Doesn't Want Kids to Inherit His Riches: What Do People Think?

For most parents today it’s hard not to be tempted to help children financially. This fact was highlighted by Meetville.com (dating app to find the right person) in the poll, conducted between 8/19/14 and 10/06/14.

In the mentioned poll people were asked: “Could you deprive your children of inheritance?” The majority of participants (78%) believe it is wrong not to leave any money behind. Yet, there are those (22%) who fear by leaving an inheritance they will cause the kids to lose motivation to build a successful career.

For similar reasons British singer Sting proclaimed his six children will not inherit his fortune: "I told them there won't be much money left because we are spending it. We have a lot of commitments. I certainly don't want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks. They have to work."

31,293 participants of the poll represented the following countries: USA - 54%, Canada - 5%, Britain - 12%, Australia - 8% and other countries - 21%.

Alex Cusper, Meetville service analyst, points out that in most countries around the world, inheritance is prescribed. He quotes Harvard professor John Davis, who said: “It’s only in the Anglo-Saxon world based on English common law where you are given complete discretion to give it to your children or give it to the cats.” “It is reasonable,” Alex believes, “for parents to discuss inheritance and  ways of spending it with children in advance."

Meetville, a leading mobile dating service, regularly conducts research among its users. Millions of people from the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia answer hundreds of questions every month. You can find the results of the poll here. If you are interested in research on a particular topic, please contact us. Any reprint of the material should be followed by clickable links to the survey.