On my Dad's side, My grandfather, then my Dad, kept us fully informed once they felt we were mature enough to understand how things worked. Probably around 25 or so.

We started having annual family meetings with our kids when they were 25 or so where we'd give them a copy of our financial statement. They've also attended meetings with attorneys regarding our Wills the last couple of times we've had such meetings.

My Mom's family was very secretive which, I believe, made it harder for us to help them when they became infirm.

But, in the end, it depends on your kids. Are they responsible or are they jackasses? Or somewhere in the middle? Depending on where they fall on this continuum would inform my decision.

Forget the Inheritance. These Readers Are Passing Down Their Money Now

Not sure if behind paywall, and the article is mostly a series of four vignettes of families doing this, but relevant to this thread.

From the article:

A recent Wall Street Journal article showed that older Americans have $110 trillion in wealth, more than any other group. Because they're living longer, they aren't passing all of that down to younger generations just yet.
But many affluent baby boomers told us they are regularly giving their kids and grandkids smaller financial gifts now, while they're still around to watch younger generations enjoy it. It's not enough to show up in the big-picture wealth data, but it still makes a meaningful difference in the lives of the recipients. The great wealth transfer might be on hold, but the great wealth trickle is well under way.

Parents told us they are spending money to help their adult children with child care, rent, down payments for homes and vacations. Still, it's not always so straightforward. They have to choose whether to give financial gifts to all their children equally, or to parcel it out based on who has the greatest needs. They also must decide whether to attach any strings to their gifts and where to draw the line."

Father started keeping me aprised of things during middle school. I guess it was a good thing but also became an issue of constant worry. Grew into an exaggerated sense of frugality. Now while this can be a good thing I also feel you shouldn't completely fear spending but I think we're at a point where sometimes we're missing out on some great experiences because of these feelings.

Our parents have done the same. It's from some natural gas $$ they (well now just mom) get. Definitely has been nice over the years. But it's never expected and I tell my mom she should be keeping it now since it's just her.

62strat said:

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They've also taken brother and me with our wife/kids on a disney cruise, and here next month, a trip to costa rica.

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So there were some strings attached.

The only thing I tell my kids about is life insurance. I explain to them that I have 2.5mm of life insurance, but if i die their mom will be broke quickly so help her!

My dad told me everything about his estate before he died and how to manage it. My two sisters are zillionaires so we ended up selling the entire estate as soon as he died b/c they had majority vote and my mom was good with it.