“Parents in heaven, children in court.” The Chinese saying has resonance for the children -- many now in their 60s -- of the modern first generation of wealthy Asians, whose children have often found themselves fighting in court over the estates of their parents because little planning occurred.

    “We did not talk about death to them because we worried that they might be sensitive and superstitious,” said a wealthy Singaporean businessman who inherited a large family business from his father. “We did not want our parents to think that we were going after their money, because that might make us lose their trust.” 

    Time brings all things to pass, and advisers believe that this second generation is more ready to discuss inheritance planning. 

    William Lexmond, a managing director in Singapore, said that because family values were stronger in Asia, high-net-worth individuals between 30 and 40 years old -- those with at least $1 million in investable assets -- were more likely to do estate planning than their Western counterparts “because they feel they have the obligation to do so.” 

    “Rather than to rely on someone else, i.e., the state, to take care of your family, there is more of a desire to make sure something is set aside,” he said.

    Inheritance planning is not yet uniform throughout Asia. Last year, a research study on private wealth in China by Bain and Company and China Merchants Bank showed that the first generation of rich mainland Chinese was still too young -- 70 percent to 80 percent are younger than 50 -- to think about matters like bequeathing their wealth to descendants. Only about 10 percent of high-net-worth individuals surveyed reported having thought about inheritance issues. 

    By contrast, in developed areas like Europe, the United States and Japan, wealth inheritance is the primary objective of wealth management. With inheritance tax rates of 40 percent to 50 percent, high-net-worth individuals are motivated to develop inheritance plans early, the study found. 

    Source: The New York Times

 中国富人应重视遗产分配计划

       “父母上天堂后，孩子就要上法庭。”这是一句几十年前曾在中国流传的话。而现在，亚洲首批富豪多数已经年过花甲，他们在遗产的分配方面常常因为毫无计划，而使自己的孩子面对无穷无尽的官司。

       “我们从不和父母谈论他们去世的问题，因为我们担心他们会对此非常敏感或迷信。”一名新加坡富豪的儿子说，他从父亲那里接受一大笔财产。“我认为和父母说这些，会让他们误认为自己是在打遗产的主意，从而失去父母的信任。”

       然而时间总会将这件事情放到台面上，分析家认为下一代更愿意讨论遗产继承。

       新加坡一名管理顾问威廉·雷克蒙德指出，家庭财富意识在亚洲已经变得越来越强，尤其那些身家百万美元以上的30-40岁富人，更希望提早讨论自己的财富在下一代中的分配，因为“他们感到这样做是自己的义务”。

       “人们更加愿意处理自己去世后的财产去向，而非依靠别人或是国家。”威廉说。

       而遗产的分配计划在亚洲还不算盛行。去年，贝恩公司和招商银行发起的调查表明，中国大陆的第一代富人还很年轻，70-80%都在50岁以下，这个年龄对分配自己的遗产来说有些过早，因此只有10%的中国富人考虑过这一问题。

       与此相反的是，在欧洲、美国、日本等发达地区或国家，财产的分配与传承是财产管理的重要组成部分。由于40-50%高额的遗产税，人们被鼓励尽早制定自己的遗产分配计划。