For young, spendthrift types, getting a bunch of unearned money can derail them more than you'd think. I know 2 people who essentially are counting on inheritances to bail them out. They've literally always known the money is coming someday, and arranged their lives accordingly. For an older person or spouse who is not really financially savvy, I think it's good to have those tough conversations. It's a big responsibility and there are financial predators out there.
It's just a shame that money wherewithal is so tough to pass down or teach. Why, I don't know... In the best "lead a horse to water" style, I send my kids, close friends and spouse various interesting articles-- MMM and the like-- about getting ahead, saving, growing wealth, etc. It just doesn't hold their interest the way it does mine. Only one member of our immediate family seems to have that type of drive.
My husband is all about the work, I'm all about getting ahead. I like the challenge of money making money, of making something out of very little, of spotting and developing opportunities. When we first met, his relatively small business was owed 10's of thousands of IOU's. He used to deliver a product and not be willing to spend the time to send the bill. No invoices, no delivery signatures, etc. Months would go by. I was appalled, since he worked so tremendously hard, and yet... isn't the money the whole idea? I stopped bankrolling the customers, and bill collected the debts for a couple of years until we got (mostly) paid.
In a nutshell, if I predecease him, I have no idea how our estate will go. It's a big estate now, and hopefully he'd simplify it if we hadn't already. Money management is not his thing. He could live much more simply/frugally, and on far less, than we currently own.