Dear Blake,
What financial responsibility do parents have to their adult children and grandchildren? We are a blended family of 35 years. It is the second marriage for my wife and me, with four children and eight grandchildren. One child insists it is our responsibility to assist with the cost of educating his two children. Over the last 15 years, we have gifted him and his family well over $50,000. We are middle income, and trying to stay solvent enough to assure we are able to meet any unforeseen expenses of senior living while enjoying local arts and educational opportunities in our retirement. Please advise.
Signed, Anthony
From Kansas City, Kansas
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Dear Anthony,
What your son is attempting to do is very manipulative. You should counter his selfish insensitivity stupidity, by saying some things that will leave that moron angry and confused. Here are some ideas. Tell him that his two children don’t seem very bright, and if they cheat on enough exams and graduate high school, they will be better off working some place at minimum wage, so they’ll have some money saved after they become homeless. Or, tell your son that you will pay every penny of his children’s tuition that the law requires you to do, and add that nothing short of the threat of prison will make you open your checkbook to finance his offspring. Don’t pay for any education until you find out what your grandchildren’s aspirations are. If it’s an achievable realistic goal, help them out. If it’s not, be honest to tell them that they’ll never realize their dream because they are just simply way too stupid to accomplish it. And finally, ask your son how much has he sacked away to take care of you and your wife when you two are much older. If he says “nothing”, then tell him that’s how much you plan on spending on his kids future education. If he says he has saved a lot, tell him that you don’t want it, and you want him to use it all on his own children. And even if he is offended by that logic, your idiotic son cannot deny that you gave him a crash course in both business and math. I hope this helps.
Blake