Inheritance and estates

Inherit the Wind; There's Little Else Left - New York Times:

In 2004 median inheritances — half were bigger and half were smaller — amounted to about $29,000 in today's money, according to a Federal Reserve analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances. That is enough for the heirs to buy a new Pontiac Coupe. But for almost all, it is hardly life-changing money.

And that is the median of actual inheritances. It doesn't include the many deaths without any inheritances. MSN Money found that

 "Only 20% of families, or one in five, report ever receiving an inheritance, according to Havens analysis of Federal Reserve figures. Most of those who did get money in recent years, say Gokhale and Kotlikoff, got less than $25,000, with just 1.6% receiving more than $100,000."

Back to the NYT article:

Paul Schervish and John Havens of Boston College's Center for Wealth and Philanthropy predict that by midcentury, $25 trillion will be passed from the old to their offspring.

But the typical American is seeing little of this wealth. Mr. Schervish and Mr. Havens found that most money would go to a few lucky heirs: 7 percent of the estates would account for half the aggregate bequests.

...Another study, based on the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study, also shows the disparities. Michael D. Hurd and James P. Smith of the RAND Corporation estimated that half of the children of parents born from 1931 to 1947 — that is, parents who are about 60 to 75 years old — would inherit less than $19,000, while the top 5 percent would receive at least $237,000.

...[Men] can expect to live an additional 17 years [after retirement], and [women], another 20 years....
Mr. Hurd and Mr. Smith of RAND calculated that the average person between 60 and 70 would spend 58 percent of his or her wealth before dying.
Even though many senior citizens want to keep their homes until they die, many sell, mostly to cover health-related expenses. According to another study by Mr. Hurd, 44 percent of people who owned a house at age 70 will have sold it by age 85.