Don’t rely on inheritance, Brits warned

British consumers have been warned that they should not rely on an inheritance windfall to improve their financial wellbeing.

A report from Fool.co.uk has suggested that almost half of all adults in the UK are expecting to benefit to some extent when older generations of their family pass away but in many cases they will be disappointed.

Less than one-quarter of people expect to leave a majority of their assets behind when they die and one in 25 do not anticipate having anything left to bequeath to their children.

Some people feel that waiting for an inheritance windfall is rude, while others are hoping that their parents’ assets will help them become debt free.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, commented: “We can no longer rely on assets being passed down the family tree.

“And for the many of us who are struggling to make ends meet, we will have to fend for ourselves in the here and now.”

The debt management problems being faced by millions of British households have resulted in a significant increase in the use of so-called doorstep loans in recent months, a report from Equifax suggested recently.

By Dan Mather