"You're saying something by giving things to them:" communication and family inheritance

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Publication Title

European Journal of Ageing

Volume

10

Issue

3

First Page

181

Keywords

Communication, Family inheritance, Older adults

Last Page

189

DOI

10.1007/s10433-013-0262-z

Abstract

The study purpose was to contribute to a more complete understanding of the experience and meaning of family inheritance. The aim of this article is to describe and discuss the meaning of communication in inheritance experiences among Canadian families. A constructivist/interpretive methodological approach guided this research. Participants were recruited through purposive, convenience sampling from two cities and one town in southern and southwestern Ontario, Canada. Fifty face-to-face, semi-structured, audio-taped, in-depth interviews were conducted between June 2006 and April 2007. NVivo software was used to organize and analyze the data. A content analysis method guided data analysis. Participants interpreted the meaning of family structure, relationships, feelings, and past inheritance experiences to construct their family inheritance communication. Analysis of the findings revealed four themes regarding the role of communication in family inheritance including: (a) avoiding conflict and preserving biological ties, (b) resisting conversations about possessions, (c) achieving confidence with possession communication, and (d) lasting effects. Participants from non-blended and blended families experienced similar inheritance communication challenges related to past experience with their parents' wills and distribution of their own possessions. Participants with past positive inheritance experiences with parents adopted similar strategies when communicating their own inheritance wishes. Negative messages conveyed to participants by their parent's wills inspired participants to communicate in opposite ways in their own inheritance planning. The study findings are useful for gerontologists, lawyers, family counselors, and estate planners. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

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