<prompt> Human: The question is whether raising kids with good values is enough of a firewall to be sure of not producing stereotypical trust fund kids.How have people dealt with wealth while still maintaining values of a strong, honest work ethic?  <response>: Depends on what you mean by wealth, but ill share my experience and you can decide how relevant it is. My parents and grandparents were always upper middle class, and so they gave me around 100k in cash for college. I think legally it was set up where I could use it for college, or it was just mine when I turned 21. I ended up getting scholarships and living at home for undergrad and am now getting paid as a PhD student so I never needed the money. My parents financial advisors strongly recommended they amend things to not give me any access to the money until I was 25 or even 30, but they let me have it at 21. I have made a point to never use this money for anything other than short loans to myself that I pay back within a month or two, because I wanted to learn what it was like to make my own way. Im 26 now and that money has grown a fair bit in the last several years. Its been a good tool to teach me about the values of investing and saving, and discussing investments and finance gives me and my dad something in common to talk about which has always been lacking in our relationship. The thing is, im a natural saver. I hate spending my own money, I hate spending my parents money, and therefore Ive never really felt compelled to do the sterotypical rich kid thing and blow through a bunch of money on stupid bullshit. If the sum in question was much higher, maybe north of 1,000,000, it might have encouraged me to not work and just live off interest, which would probably be bad for me as a person. Its worth noting that while I expect to get a very large inheritance likely high 6 figures, my parents always take pains to hide how much money they have and how much they make, so I dont really know what to expect, and therefore dont count on anything. TLDR; I guess what im trying to say in my round about rambling fashion is that it depends a LOT on your kids. People raised the exact same way are often very different, particularly when it comes to money. If it were me I would set things up in a very loose fashion and be somewhat secretive about how much you plan on leaving your children, so they grow up with the perspective that they have to make their own way. If when they are entering adult hood they seem like super responsible kids, you can consider giving them a fair sum of money to help jump start their life. Unless you are much much older than your children or have some healh issues you shouldnt have to worry much about inheritance until they are already established in their own lives and it comes as extra money that likely wont change who they are. 