Recent research has found that most grandparents are keen to leave something behind for their grandchildren.
What’s more surprising is that most want to ringfence the money to ensure it is passed on in accordance with their wishes.
Seven in 10 say they plan to leave their grandchildren an inheritance and of those, more than 55% will leave it directly to the grandchildren rather than trusting their own children to pass it on in time.
In many cases, deciding to write their grandchildren directly into the will could be down to the close relationships modern grandparents have with their grandchildren.
The research by SunLife found that half of all UK grandparents said they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren — more than they enjoyed spending time with their own children when they were growing up.
And while most say they feel they spend enough time with their grandchildren, two in five would like to spend more.
A further three in 10 say they reckon they spend more quality time with their grandchildren than they did with their own children!
Although grandparents now live an average of 119 miles away from their families, four in five provide some form of childcare for their grandchildren.
Almost half babysit, one in five do the school run, one in four provide daycare during the working week, and one in three are there to look after their grandchildren when they are ill.
Having so much time together also means that grandparents are spending money on them day to day.
On average, grandparents spend £62 a month on their grandchildren on things like pocket money, sweets, clothes, presents, hobbies and clubs.
Top on grandparents’ list on ways they enjoy spending money on their grandkids is “days out” and “doing things together”, followed by toys and books.
On the whole, grandparents do not begrudge spending cash on their grandkids, but a third did say they don’t like having to fork out for school and general travel expenses.
Ian Atkinson, spokesman at SunLife said: “It’s not news that grandparents love their grandchildren and are more than willing to help out with childcare — but it is interesting to see that actually, almost half feel put upon at least some of the time.
“And the fact that over two-thirds plan to leave an inheritance directly to their grandchildren shows how much they’re in their thoughts.
“Of course, if you are planning to leave your grandchildren an inheritance, it’s important to have an up-to-date will — without one, the law will decide what happens to your estate, so your wishes might not be met.
“Even if you don’t have children or grandchildren, it’s worth thinking about making a will.
“If you die without one and have no spouse or children, your parents or siblings may inherit your estate, even if you’d prefer it to go to other people.
“Or, if when you die you are separated but not yet divorced, your ex could inherit some or all of your estate, even if that is not what you intended.”
To find out more about making a will, visit www.sunlifedirect.co.uk
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