No inheritance for heir apparent: Sir Elton John leaves kids out of his will

Recently Sir Elton John in an interview revealed that he would only be giving a small portion of his hard-earned money to his sons, Zachary and Elijah, instead of leaving an estimated £200 million worth of fortune to them.

Previously, musician Sting and Bill Gates made headlines too when they announced their decision to pledge their wealth to charitable causes instead of leaving it to their children.

The idea is for their children to work hard so that they have a comfortable living. But is it the right approach? Television anchor Archana Puran Singh, who is a mother to two sons (aged 17 and 20), believes that helping children to develop good money habits is a lesson that will pay off in the long run.

She says, “I was always of the belief that I need to work hard so that my kids have it easy. But now I understand why Elton John and Bill Gates decide to give away their money to charity. Money tends to handicap your ambition. It would be a shame if my sons didn’t explore their potential or talent simply because they know they can count on us. Thankfully my husband has always been prudent with their pocket money every time I decided to indulge them. Today, they understand that my money isn’t theirs per se. They think twice about buying gadgets with our money.”

Relationship expert Seema Hingorany explains that it helps to include kids in conversations regarding financial matters. She says, “It is important to inculcate a sense of financial independence in kids no matter how rich or poor you are. You could allocate a monthly pocket money and ask them to get their expenditure sorted in the amount. Parents also need to teach them the importance of charity. So, if your child has expensive toys and doesn’t need them any more, teach him/her to give it away. You need to tell them that you have worked hard to reach where you are and he/she needs to do the same too. Most importantly, parents shouldn’t have an attitude where you think they need to provide everything for the child so that he doesn’t face any hardships in the future. This attitude could make them lazy to achieve anything in life.”

Director Divya Kumar Khosla believes that one needs to teach both — good for the society, and financial independence to the young ones. She says, “I think every parent wants to fulfil their children’s wishes. Money may not be the be all and end all of the world, but kids should have an understanding about money. I always make it a point to teach my son Ruhaan, the importance of money, so that he understands how hard one needs to work to deserve it. Giving back to society is very much a duty in my books. We need to inculcate this belief in our kids too.”