MARK KOHLERMain Street Professionals, Main Street Professionals, Main Street Professionals, Main Street Professionals, Main Street Professionals, LLC · Owner at Main Street Professionals, LLC

Best Methods to Distributing Money After You Die

5 Nov 2025 · 1 min

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In this segment, Mark Kohler outlines three key estate‑planning techniques for distributing inheritance responsibly. First, he advocates staggered payouts, releasing a beneficiary’s inheritance in age‑based installments (e.g., at 25, 30, and 35) to prevent wasteful spending and encourage long‑term stewardship. Second, he proposes incentive‑based disbursements that tie additional funds to specific achievements such as college graduation, advanced degrees, high GPA, starting a business, purchasing a first home, marriage, or taking a low‑paying service‑oriented job, thereby rewarding positive behavior. Third, he recommends safety provisions that delay or withhold payments when the heir faces substance‑abuse problems, significant creditor issues, criminal activity, or other destabilizing circumstances, protecting both the heir and the estate from further harm. These strategies collectively aim to balance generosity with safeguards, ensuring heirs receive support at appropriate times while mitigating risks of misuse.

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The first option is staggering payouts. I love this. Instead of dumping a lump sum on a 21 year old, you can release funds in stages, like a third when they're 25, a third when they're 30 and then 35. Trust me, they're going to blow the first third. But when they turn 35 and get that last piece, they're going to take care of it. The other thing you can do is create incentives. You can actually give rewards for good behavior. Money when they graduate from college or even a master's or a doctorate degree. Helping them through college. If they have a certain gpa. You can help them start their first business or buy their first home, or have money for marriage, or if they have a job that's more service oriented, that doesn't pay a lot. You might match something like that with every dollar they're earned. There are so many different ideas. I also love a variety of safety provisions which include language that delays payouts. If your heir is dealing with substance abuse or a major creditor problem or crime or something devastating, putting more money in their laps during that situation or process is not a good thing. These provisions protect them again from themselves and maybe from some even outside threats.