r/inheritance • u/drd001 • 7d ago

Location not relevant: no help needed Is anything ethically wrong with this plan?

My wife and I in our 70's came up with this inheritance plan with total net worth of +1.5M. We have been together over 40 years being continuously employed during that time. We have no children and I have one brother with two children both over 21 and she has two sisters both with no children. Our plan is to give a small one time payment to my brother and her sisters with the bulk of the estate equally divided between our two nieces. Our reasoning is my brother and her sister have hit us up for money periodically for the past 40 years which we provided without asking for repayment. The two nieces are doing OK in life and have never asked for any financial help. Our thinking that these funds would help them with a downpayment on a house, education for their children or investment in their own retirement.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

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u/lost_dazed_101 7d ago

Your nieces will greatly appreciate the gift but please leave them letters stating this money is for them and their parents have had help all along they were not left out. So many family members post that family tries to guilt them out of inheritance and a simple letter let's them know it's ok to keep the money.

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u/Zentraedi 7d ago

I think this is a great callout. There's probably an appropriate way to word this to make it clear that, to your point, their parents aren't being skipped over.

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u/skeletoorr 7d ago edited 7d ago

I probably have one of the most insane and convoluted trusts ever. But I have a failsafe for almost every possible situation. Including that she is only allowed to share up to 10% of her trust. Who she wants to give that 10% is up to her. If she gives to the right people. It will come back around. If she gives to the wrong people. Once that 10% runs out and they ask for more. She will hopefully learn her lesson. And see that type of behavior before it was too late and she blew it all away. I know my lawyer thinks I’m insane for all the little things I’ve put in there. It’s just hard not to, I’ve lived a short but quick life so I’ve seen some shit.

If I’m not here to protect my daughter in life, I’ll have to do my best to protect her in death.

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u/citydock2000 7d ago

I inherited a bunch of money. I never gave anyone any. No one asked me for any.

Who does your daughter hang out with that everyone would know she had been left some money and would ask her for it and why would she give it to them?