WWYD - small inheritance?
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Anonymous
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I received a call from my dad today saying that a lawyer was looking for me. I called the lawyer to find out that my late aunt left me a small inheritance ($10-15k). She died 5 years ago now, so this is quite out of the blue. It turns out I'm the only relative she left anything to. I have two siblings. I told my dad what the lawyer had said and my brother is visiting right now so I don't know if he now knows something about this.
Of the three of us, I was the only to have any sort of relationship with our aunt, even though it was distant. It feels awkward to keep all the money to myself, but I could certainly use the extra cash. FWIW, my siblings and I all live about the same sort of lifestyle, but I don't know a ton about their incomes. We get along great, though don't see each other more than once or twice each year. So what would you do? Divide it evenly, keep it for yourself, or something else? |
Anonymous
| Keep it--you were the one to be in touch. |
Anonymous
| Keep it. It's honestly not a lot of money. Treat it like an emergency fund. Put it in the bank and keep it as a cushion. |
Anonymous
| If she wanted all the siblings to have it, she would have left it to them. Clearly, she wanted you to have it. Honor her wishes and keep it. |
Anonymous
| Split it up. Why cause resentment over money? If you love your siblings then share with them but not necessarily evenly. How about half for you and quarters for each of your two siblings? You are under no obligations and it would be easier to keep it all if you had a poor relationship but I'm not sure it's worth taking the risk that either will be jealous. Not your problem of course just my thoughts. |
Anonymous
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Keep it. I can't believe you are even thinking of splitting it
Your siblings didn't have a relationship with her. She wanted to leave you something small. Not them. |
Anonymous
| I'd share it with my brother, but we're good like that. The only reason I was closer with my grandfather than he was, is that I moved to G'pa's state for a few years. My brother would share an inheritance from a relative with me. |
Anonymous
| I might pay for a trip that we would take together. But I wouldn't just cut a check. |
Anonymous
| Keep it. |
Anonymous
That's not enough money to feel guilty about. Of course you can split it with siblings. But I am guessing that you will not do that... |
Anonymous
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Keep it but don't spend it on anything and definitely don't piss it away on stupid stuff. If you spend it on anything, make it count, like a down payment on a house or significant improvement, like to repair a non functioning bathroom or kitchen.
I honestly don't know if I'd keep it all or share it. I have one brother who's financially worse off than me (plus he has a ton of kids) so I might do something for him (maybe not cash, but something that would help him out.) I guess in many ways I'd feel like if I made the effort to have a relationship and the siblings didn't then that's cause and effect. |
Anonymous
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I wouldn't share it.
When my father in law died my husband and his siblings felt bad that his will didn't include any money for his only brother, their uncle, who is not in a good financial place. The estate was worth about $1.5m. Siblings decided to give their uncle $10k. Uncle was THRILLED and extremely grateful. Everyone was happy. |
Anonymous
This. Money is the root of all evil. It has taken 15 years to even begin to heal a rift between me and another relative over my receiving a token inheritance while she received nothing. |
Anonymous
Do something special altogether in your aunts memory and keep the rest. And maybe don't tell them the amount she left. |
Anonymous
| Keep it. If you're close with your family they'll understand. It's not a ton of money and there is no requirement that people leave anything or even amounts to everyone. |