Modern Families and Modern Money Worries Summary

The article “Modern Families and Modern Money Worries” discusses the financial struggles of four increasingly common family structures in our society today. The article discusses single parent families, blended families, same-sex families, and multi-generational families.

Single parent families are families where only one parent is raising a child, whether the child was adopted or a married couple had a child but is divorced. With single parent families, financial costs are often the biggest concern. Arnold Jenkins is a single parent of one daughter; he used to be a workaholic but now takes all the time he can to spend with his daughter. Because he is a single parent, the money he used to deposit into his savings account now goes towards the day care his daughter attends while he is at work. Food costs have also rose for the Jenkins family because they tried to adopt a healthier life style and began eating more fruits and vegetables. Arnold also compiled a large debt from the long custody battle with his ex-wife. The most troubling money concern with single parent families is Arnold’s fear of not having enough money to cover for his daughter if he were to unexpectedly die.

Blended families have a different set of financial concerns. Their financial arguments involve a what is yours, mine, and ours debate.  A prenup is often a reliable option before marriage to differentiate what each individual owns if something were to happen to the relationship. Many couples make a plan for what they bring into the marriage, however they forget to plan for issues in the future like supporting adult children or leaving money to their heirs.

A same-sex family’s financial problems come with future inheritances. Spouses have trouble leaving money for each other in case of a sudden death in some states because there are still states that don’t recognize gay marriage. However, in most states married same sex couples receive the same federal treatment for income and estate taxes as married heterosexual couples. On the contrary, no court or federal rulings can resolve family issues that involve family dynamics. In particular, if the parents or families don’t approve of the relationship.

Multi-generational families are families where two, three, or four generations of a family live under the same roof and depend on support from one or two of those family members. In this case, there are many tax considerations and faulty transactions. It is very easy for people to run afoul with gift taxes when they give family members money as a gift to pay for their own taxes. All families encounter financial challenges and every family has a different financial situation. These four families and the situations they have to face as a family are becoming more and more relevant in our society and deserve a close look at like the one supplied in the article “Modern Families and Modern Money Worries.”