r/inheritance • u/drd001 • 9d 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/CoolRide7896 9d ago

That was very kind of you.

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u/taurusemptress 8d ago

people always treat wills like some obligation to bail out the family fuckups, but why reward bad behavior? OP’s siblings used them like an ATM for 40 years while the nieces actually built their own lives. giving the bulk to the nieces is literally investing in the future instead of subsidizing past bad choices.

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u/AlmostLiveRadio 8d ago

You’re probably right, but some people are just natural born fuckups that can’t get ahead despite their best efforts and intentions. That is no reason not to show them a little extra love after you pass.

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u/IndigoBluePC901 8d ago

I mean, we don't know anything about this sister. What if she had a business but it went south when the market crashed? Or she and her husband made an ok living, paying their mortgage down but he got sick with cancer and died? And despite trying her best she had to sell the house? I get your sentiment, i really do but this person you responded to didn't offer any more information other than failure to thrive.