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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My siblings and I were recently informed that we will each get $100K and our two half siblings (same mom) will split the rest of the estate (about $10M). My mother and stepfather married when I was five and had two children together. We all lived in the same house together (not in the same state ans my father but we visited him regularly). Our father passed away suddenly and tragically a couple of years ago and we will receive an inheritance from him, but nothing mindblowing.

No sibling issues because no one was consulted but WTAF?[/quote]

You were so young when you began livng in the household with mom and stepdad.  How old was your sibling?  Spepfather deceased?
10m to half siblings and what amount to your mom?  She had 4 kids , 2 from each DH, so what happens upon her demise?

[b]As a child etc were you and sibling under a Cinderella Effect?  Gifts, tuition?  [/b]

[/quote]

Both mother and stepfather are still living. If he dies first, mother lives off of trust income until her death and then the money goes to the kids.

Up to 18, stepfather and father split private school tuition and father paid for trips to visit him and I believe provided some child support, covering medical expenses, etc and I am not sure what else. Once 18, father paid for tuition and gave spending money. Stepfather gave smaller amount of spending money through undergrad and grad school. After grad school, no financial support from any parents (I didn't expect or ask for any). My father did pay for family vacations and things like that and gave money for holidays--very normal, IMO, for adult children. Half siblings have received financial support in adulthood from stepfather for more daily/regular expenses (rent, car stuff, etc).

My mom left my dad for my stepdad, i.e., he basically took another man's family away. My father was extremely involved in our lives in every sense, despite living a flight away. Things seemed normal until 18 in the home with mom and stepdad. Stepdad was always a loving and involved parent. Starting at 18, financial disparity grew and was transferred to the grandkids. Much less involvement and very little in the way of financial gifts/support (token gifts for holidays only) for the children of the stepkids.

They recently discussed the estate plan with all 5 children (the 3 of us stepchildren and my two half siblings). They seemed to think it was all normal and fair because our father left us money when he died (we won't get most of it until my stepmom dies). Mom and stepdad act like it's all one big happy family. They seriously have not acknowledged that this might be a slight. Also, they asked me to be executor before disclosing the terms and I agreed. So, I have a job to do -- manage their estate and make sure the real kids get all the money. I am letting the situation die down for now, but will likely hand off this responsibility soon by telling them it makes more sense for one of the others to do it.

[/quote]

How do trusts like this work?  Is there a cap on how much of the trust PP's mom can spend down? Who is the executor?  Is everything that PP's mom gets from his estate locked up in a trust, so she doesn't have anything to give away upon her death? That seems unfair.  In the blended family I know, both people have money to give away upon their death.  Apply this to PP's situation - the stepfather doesn't have 100% control over the entire estate - the biological mother owns and controls 50% of the estate and can divide that 50% equally to her biological children, including the PP.  Sure, the children of the mom and stepdad get more in the end because they each get 25% of mom's estate and 50% of dad's estate, but it's still a much better situation for PP than what PP has described.  PP's mom is basically cheated out of a legacy. [/quote]

It's very common. Everything goes into a trust and the mom lives off of the income of the trust. When she dies, the trust dissolves and the money gets distributed to the kids. She does not have ownership over the house or the money and just gets distributions from the trust. [/quote]

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