Bequest motive

A bequest motive seeks to provide an economic justification for the phenomenon of intergenerational transfers of wealth. In other words, to explain why people leave money behind when they die.

Which bequest motive theory most realistically represents the intentions of estate planners is unclear. Attempts to test the theories empirically are mired by poor availability of data about wealth holdings.

Bernheim, B.D.; Shleifer, A.; Summers L.H. (1985) “The Strategic Bequest Motive” in Journal of Political Economy, Vol 93, No. 6, 1045-1076

Masson, A. and Pestieau P. (1997) “Bequest Motives and Models of Inheritance: A Survey of the Literature” in (Erreygers and Vandevelde eds.) Is Inheritance Legitimate? Ethical and Economic Aspects of Wealth Transfers Springer, Berlin

...
Wikipedia