Seeking professional who knows best practices on kids and money
I am seeking a professional who can educate my partner and me on best practices around kids and money. We have lots of differences of opinion around how to instill values with money in our parenting and how candid to be about our family's financial situation with our teenager among other issues. Also, there are wealthy relatives who are inclined to just give large monetary gifts (not education-based) to our daughter which troubles me (but not my partner) so it would be good to have a skilled professional who knows what the research shows on kids and money and also kids and inherited wealth. Partner is open to meeting once for a one to two hour session. I know professionals who help parents create in-depth family and money plans (and only work on a project basis) but haven't found anyone with this who consults hourly.
Parent Replies
This is a specialty area in financial planning and family counseling. I recommend looking at a few of the books that have been published over the past few decades on the topic for starters and to get names of people who do this work.
Here are a couple:
Beyond Gold: True Wealth for Inheritors Perfect Paperback – December 7, 2012by Thayer Cheatham Willis (Author) (I think this author lives in the Bay Area and still consults with clients or can refer you to someone who can assist you.)Inherited Wealth: Opportunities and Dilemmas Paperback – June 9, 2008by John L. Levy (Author), Tracy Gary (Preface), J. Jeffrey Lambert (Foreword)Also, search the internet for "Inherited Wealth" workshops and see who is out there these days. There are some excellent professionals who specialize in this topic but they keep a low profile.
We just visited our financial advisor who was talking about teaching his kids about finances including different types of debt and investments. He is a great guy and we've gone to him for seventeen years. Personal recommendation.
Stephen G. Krochmal, Jr., CLU®, ChFC®, CFP®
Financial Advisor
KKP Financial and Insurance Services
A financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
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Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
100 Pringle Avenue
Suite 420
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
O: 925.280.4444 | F: 925.932.8351
Rebecah Freeling is a family coach and also a financial professional. She helped us with issues around behavior, but she also helped us figure out how to talk to our kids about money. Rebecah is very knowledgeable and understands how kids think and develop. I highly recommend her. We really enjoyed working with her.
This book is fantastic: "The Opposite of Spoiled" by Ron Lieber. It really helped me crystallize my vague thoughts on kids and money, and start developing a family policy around it. Obviously you and your husband should be on the same page though, and if you are having trouble getting there, maybe you could both read the book so you start sharing a framework, and heck, if your kids are teens, they could read it too and you can have a family book club discussion!