Rarely, but occasionally, it may be permissible to leave some of your assets to your children. So, how can one give an inheritance while they are still alive? Let’s understand it.  

Without a valid will, inheritance rights are governed by state intestacy rules. The surviving spouse, children, and even grandchildren may have a legal right to an inheritance under different state rules, though. Work out whether you would be leaving yourself with enough to live on and enjoy a respectable lifestyle for the rest of your life before opting to let your children take their inheritance early. To make this decision, you might need to speak with a financial planner.

• If you choose to give a gift of land, you will likely owe capital gains tax and require to pay stamp duty. There will be relatively little stamp duty, but there will undoubtedly be stamp duty and capital gains tax due if you decide to distribute shares to your children during your lifetime (unless you give them claims on which you have made a loss). On the other hand, there won’t be any gift tax or gift charges if you decide to give your children land, stocks, or cash.
• Choose to give your children their inheritance (or a portion of it) in the form of loans. You should have a written loan agreement, obtain security, such as a mortgage over real estate, and update your will to specify whether the loan will be an asset of your estate or whether it is to be forgiven. This is especially crucial if you want to treat your kids equally.

Common Law States’ Inheritance Law as per estate planning lawyer

Common law is present in every state that is not a community property state.

Whose name on the title determines ownership in a common law state (for real estate or a car, for example)? Even though the other spouse made the purchase payment, the home belongs to the spouse whose name is the sole one on the deed.

If the type of personal property in question doesn’t fall under title, ownership is determined by the person who bought it. A spouse does not always have a right to a half-interest in assets amassed during the marriage. 

Most common law jurisdictions have an inheritance rule that permits the surviving spouse to claim one-third to one-half of the decedent’s possessions, protecting them from total disinheritance. In some states, the amount each spouse can inherit rises with the length of the marriage.

After a divorce, a spouse gives inheritance rights while alive

Most states immediately cancel bequests made in a will to an ex-spouse before the divorce once it is finalized. Bequests to an ex-spouse are not affected by divorce in some states. It is better to create a new will after the divorce is finalized. If you want to ensure that your ex-spouse inherits — or does not.

Adults and Minors’ rights give Inheritance while alive.

Under state intestate succession laws, an adult child typically does not have a legally protected claim to inherit a deceased parent’s property, unlike a spouse. Minor children do have some protection in some areas, like Florida. The majority of states do protect against the unintended omission of adults and little children from a will. That is easily conceivable. After the birth of their first kid, parents create a will. But they neglect to update it when they have a second child. They accidentally forgot to disinherit that child; it wasn’t their intention.

When a child is born after the will was written, the law deems such omissions to be unintentional. A portion of the estate of the deceased person may go to the excluded child.

However, if the omission was deliberate and the parent(s) intended to deny a child’s inheritance. This should be made clear in the estate planning documents.

Grandchildren’s Rights to Inheritance as per estate planning lawyer

In general, grandchildren do not have a legal claim to a grandparent’s property. In some places, if the grandchild’s father has passed away. The grandchild may entitle to receive an inheritance. In case the disinheritance of the grandchild is not expressly stated in the will.