Wealthy parents and celebrities don't want money to ruin their kids - aarp ev...

But financial advisers say parents can avoid the worst of their fears by being open about finances and instilling philanthropic values and a work ethic in children early on. And if that

doesn't work, parents can resort to creating trusts so children don't fritter away an inheritance. Boomers should be especially concerned; they're expected to transfer more

than $30 trillion to heirs — more than twice the sum boomers stand to inherit, reports consulting firm Accenture. And if the past is any guide, fortunes made by one generation may be wiped

out by the third through profligate spending and a weakened work ethic. Tom Rogerson experienced this trend firsthand. His great-grandfather, president of one of the then-largest financial

institutions in Boston, amassed a fortune of more than $78 million in today's dollars. The family patriarch made all the financial decisions, so heirs never learned the basics of wealth

management, such as how much they could spend without depleting assets, Rogerson says. Growing up, nothing was off-limits, with the family going through seven planes and six yachts by the

time he was in his early 20s. "I thought this was normal," he says. Yet, when it came time for Rogerson to inherit, little money was left. Today, at age 58, he is a senior managing

director at Wilmington Trust in Boston, advising affluent parents worried about leaving large sums to kids. His message is simple: "If you can prepare your children to be responsible

with your wealth, then maybe you won't worry about leaving them a little more." Some parents use a Roth IRA to begin a conversation with teenagers about saving, investing and

setting goals, says John Bacci, a planner with Foundation Financial Advisors in Linthicum, Md. Once a teen has a job, parents can contribute to the Roth on behalf of the child or match every

dollar the young worker puts in, says Bacci. Christie Johnson, 65, of Pasadena, Md., plans to contribute $1,000 annually to Roths for her goddaughter and three grandchildren, hoping this

will seed retirement nest eggs and foster a work ethic. "At the end of the day, I'm going to vote with Sting," she says. "There is value in working. You learn not just

how to do something on the job, you learn about yourself and grow as a person."