You mother didn’t give the money to your sister during mother’s lifetime. It sounds like when mother passed, all of her assets were jointly owned by father and they all became solely his, and now he has passed and there is no directive in his will for “medical school daughter” to receive a larger share of estate than the other daughters.

Either mother made an empty promise or “medical school sister” is lying or there was a misunderstanding between the two.

The estate will go through probate and the executor must distribute the estate according to the law. “Medical school sister” can file a claim through the probate court and make her case, though it’s a weak one.

Any contract articulated with words, whether spoken or written, is verbal. Your sister is claiming your mother made an oral contract. Oral contracts can be legally binding, but only if there is some proof. If your sister has no proof to present to a court other than the testimony of only one of the two parties to the agreement (her own), then she’s unlikely to prevail.

What you do with your share of the estate is up to you.

Anonymous wrote:With these added details, I would say no. Plus even if your mom said that, it doesn't mean she meant that the rest of you should give up your inheritances. Your mom may have thought more money would be left when your father passed.

You pulled up an old thread.

Also, is your sister selfish in other ways?

Your dad didn’t know about this “agreement”? Does that seem realistic to you?

Do you have children? If so, then giving your inheritance to your sister would mean depriving your own kids of money for their school or whatever. So that’s a no-go right there.

If law student sister didn’t get law school paid for and didn’t get a big wedding, then why should med student sister? In other words, each child should have gotten either a chunk for school or a chunk for a wedding. Did anyone get both? Did anyone get neither?

Also, your mother may have made that promise, if she really did make it, when the estate was bigger and you all would have received a chunk even if med school loans were first paid off.

How much did your mother leave for you all in total? How much are the med school loans? And how is your own retirement savings looking?

This is easy. The estate will be distributed by the will. Her bills can be paid after she gets her portion. What nerve she has OP.

With these added details, I would say no. Plus even if your mom said that, it doesn't mean she meant that the rest of you should give up your inheritances. Your mom may have thought more money would be left when your father passed.

Anonymous wrote:Legal is what decides. Whatever is written in the will. Written. Verbal means nothing.

Settle the estate, as legally written. Do not consider something different. Legal is legal.

After, if someone is so moved that they want to gift money to someone else, that's their decision.

Yes, but be aware of gift tax rules

No way. Literally absurd that she would ask. Twenty years ago???? If this damages the relationship she’s the one who did it. I am angry for you.

Definitely no. I thought she's attending now and had her tuition paid. Graduated 20 years ago, after mom's been dead for 10 years? She had plenty of time to hash it out with parents since graduating. Obviously nobody gave her money. Just follow the will. Med school sister is out for the money grab for whatever reason. You may not want to fight over the money, but do you like being taken to the cleaners by a greedy sis?

Lol @ asking for money for schooling from 20 years ago. I mean I would literally laugh in her face it's such an absurd request.

If your parents wanted to pay for it they would have.

Also YOU aren't ruining the relationship, she is. This is very manipulative and won't end well regardless of your decision.

So sibling wants the estate to pay off her medical school loans? Is she practicing now?

This sounds like a money grab to me, and clearly she doesn't care about the relationship.

Also, what is the reason one of the siblings wants to do this?

That is crazy (esp with the added detail that your med school sister went to med school 20 years ago). if your parents had wanted to pay for her med school they could have done it back when she went or your dad could have paid off her loans (or changed the will) at any point before he died. My mom used to tell me that she would pay for my kids to go to a $15K/summer sleepaway camp. By the time my kids were old enough to go, my mom had alzheimer's disease and her money is in a trust. No way would I ask my siblings to use the trust to pay for the camp just because my mom verbally promised it to me. In fact, I forgot about the promise until I read this post.

Anonymous wrote:Both my parents are dead. My younger sister now says that my mother promised to pay for her medical school and she wants to be paid from the estate, which while at one time large is now small. The will doesn’t mention this and she says it was a verbal agreement that was oft discussed with her and my mother. One sister is willing to pay it (but has other motivations to do so) and I’m hesitating because there is so little left that giving my share to cover it seems unfair. I don’t want to fight over money. But thoughts?

What are those other motivations?

Hell no.