One Lump Sum or More Than One Shot?
If it comes in one piece, it is one decision for them
Picture a couple named Orville, 77, and Bess, 75. They have a daughter and a son. They know what they would like to leave. They are wondering whether it needs to arrive all at once.
"If it comes in one piece, it is one decision for them," Orville said.
"If it comes in a few pieces, it is a few decisions," Bess said. "I do not know which is kinder."
They found a study that touches the question. Thompson and James, in the journal Financial Services Review in 2026, looked at Health and Retirement Study data on adults over 50. They tracked 3,005 inheritances. The title of the paper includes the phrase "the case for time-phased transfers." That means money passed on in stages over time.
The study measured net worth. It did not track spending. Someone counted as having "spent all" if their net worth at the next survey was no higher than before the inheritance.
| What happened to an inheritance | Share of heirs |
|---|---|
| Saved all of it (net worth rose by at least the amount received) | 43% |
| Did not keep any net gain | 42% |
| Something in between | About 15% |
The average inheritance in the study was about US$133,000. People who received other windfalls, such as a settlement, came out nearly the same: 44% spent all and 44% saved all.
Slightly more heirs saved everything than ended with no gain. The 42% is a net worth result. Paying off a debt or buying a home would not show up as "spent" in a net worth test, and the study did not look at either.
Does staggering the money work better? No study proves it does. The idea is reasonable to talk about. The evidence for it is thin.
Bess read the table twice. "So the study does not tell us to split it."
"It tells us people are different," Orville said. "Some of them hold on to it, some do not."
"Then maybe we ask our two."
You could…
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Ask each child how they would like to receive it, and listen to the whole answer.
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Write down what you hope the money does, in your own words, for your family only.
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Talk to a lawyer about what the options are where you live.
How did your family decide between one gift and several? Share it here. Someone reading may be at the same table tonight.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Sources: Thompson and James, "Dissipation of inheritance windfalls and the case for time-phased transfers," Financial Services Review 34(1), 2026.
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