it has been a long time since i have had to restart a character... so i am unsure if your kin still get handed an envelope when they arrive on these shores... but what if folks could set up an estate for their future kin?

there would have to be a hard cap on how much money you can put into the fund and it would have to be taxed at a very high rate (50%?) and only available to your next character created within a time limit cap (30 days?).  Once the money is in the account, it cannot be touched at all by your current character and is essentially taken out of the game.  there could be a rank stipulation built in to it as well... in the sense that you do not receive your inheritance until you become of age (made man) and that it can only be passed on through one (1) generation. 

for example:  

lets say i put $100mm (the cap in this scenario) into a trust for my next of kin.  Once my child reaches the rank of made, he will receive a one time lump sum of $50mm after "tax".  however, if my son were to not reach the rank of made before he met his demise, that money would be lost, or it can be passed on to a second generation at a higher tax rate (75%?)

Pros:

by setting a minimum rank threshold to release the funds, it would (could) incentivize players to continue playing and remaining active in the game after losing a high ranking character, instead of just quitting.  

it would take money out of the game for a while and could (theoretically) help balance out the economy 

if someone (a cl) was shot in their sleep, it would set their kin up once they become a member (however, that doesn't stop people from being IWP and OWP at birth in our current situation)

without doing the math, $50mm (after tax) doesn't even buy you 50 bg's so it doesn't create a competitive advantage.  as $50mm can be had buy purchasing credits with a bonus and going to the market place quite easily

it could create a new gameplay dynamic for those outliers that would like to overthrow the current regimes and would keep players on their toes 

Cons:

it keeps money in the game that would have otherwise disappeared from the global economy

it could (potentially) create bloodlines of rogues as $50mm (after tax) is enough to pay for an HQ and forts without being able to potentially trace the source of the income.

my last pro, could be considered a con, especially if people are being bloodline hunted

this is just a thought i have had over the last couple of weeks that could have an impact on the number of players the game retains, so folks who lose EVERYTHING don't necessarily have to build back up completely from nothing.  I am open to suggestions and tweaks to this idea but it was something that i thought could create a new game dynamic and help with player retention.

thoughts?

Quick question. Who is keeping ALL their wealth in form of Cash instead of credits.

I like that you detailed your thought process but I don't think this is necessary or even useful.