Would you share out 500k if you had a windfall?

[Legoandloldolls]

If you came into 500k? With extended family and friends?

If you had debts, young children, and just under 300k on the mortgage.

How about if they was mortgage free with savings of over 50k?

Or if they was terrible with money and spent 75k proceeds from selling property in under a year ( not on buying another property).

No. I have paid 5 sets of school and university fees. The children have no student loan burden and each has bought a property with help from me. That is our deal. That ends it.

If I won £20m I might divided it up to reduce inheritance tax when I die but not £500k

If no one knew about it, Id pay off the mortgage and car loans, buy a new car each, maybe not brand new but as new as possible. Id put money aside for college and take my youngest on holiday because he's never been abroad.

If they knew and it was from family, unless they got a similar amount, Id be guilted into dividing it up to equal amounts and Id be resentful the rest of my life but if I said anything Id be selfish

I’d divide it all between our four adult kids. Our mortgage is paid off and we don’t need more money. Hopefully I’d live for seven years so it wouldn’t be liable for tax.

No. I think it's a mad thing to even consider.

£500k is actually not that much money to be thinking about just giving it away - when you consider things like mortage rates, cost of living, cost of education - whether university or other stuff, trying to help your own children and even thinking about investing some for your own future/retirement.

It's not like its £200 million so you've got money sloshing around to spare.

DO NOT DO IT. Guarantee the same would not be afforded to you if the position was reversed.

Life rule: Put your own oxygen mask on first. Then help your children.

No

No I wouldn't share with siblings who are all independent adults, and I would not expect them to share in the same circumstances. Although I wouldn't say no if they insisted!!!

I would think about whether I would even tell anyone about it.

I would use for dh and I to retire early (we are mid 50s); a bit of home improvements and an electric car. I would also support ds through his final years of uni and a house deposit. 500k would disappear quite quickly I think!

If I did decide to tell family I would perhaps give nieces and nephews a token amount, perhaps £2k, each.

Exactly this.
You haven't said where the money came from. Is that because the backstory would influence people's opinions and make you out to be mean if you don't share?

Depends on how that person is set. If they're already loaded then they would have to be pretty mean spirited not to share. If they have very little they should use it to buy a property and set themselves up.

People who win money on the lottery and lose it fast are usually the ones who are dishing out hand-outs to every acquaintance in their lives.

OP, I've thought about this exact amount LOADS because I only play the Thunderball lottery 😂

And I've come to the conclusion, not superficially, that I would pretty much not share. I'm in your position, 3 young DC, not a high income. Live in an expensive area of the SE in a rental. Don't drive.

I simply wouldn't be able to share out any decent sum of money from 500k with family. By the time I'd bought myself a suitable house, driving lessons and a car, it would be pretty much completely used up.

Giving any away would be directly taking away from some pretty essential things in our life.

I'd give my mum around 10k for all she's done for us but other than that it would be a nice family holiday for my siblings and mum with us.

I just wouldn't have the resources to give anyone else an amount of money that would do anything significant for them.

Also the only thing that makes me resilient in my decision is I would view it as failing to provide for my DC if I did otherwise. Giving people £50k because I felt guilty would be taking £50k from my children which could help set them up through early adulthood.

This

No. Mortgage and debts would be paid off first and foremost. I have kids so they come first before other adult family members - remaining money would be invested for them into pensions, premium bonds or whatever. I've got decades of life left and would want to keep what money I have as backup for the future. Plus, my family are terrible with money, so they would just waste it.

(they've wasted money before, so they have form).

Nc. I had a windfall of a lot less but gave my mate a few thousand because she’s fab.

No I wouldn’t. I’d treat my DH, dc, step dc, and mum, but otherwise no. I wouldn’t even tell anyone other than my DH and DM.

Nothing causes more family and friend troubles than money.

Nope - not sharing £500k with extended family and friends.

Some money to my kids to help their property purchase but that’s it.

No - I wouldn't, they'd know nothing of it.

I'd tell no-one and spend nothing until I got my head around it. Then I would pay off my mortgage, stash £100k for my future care fees, top up my pension and ISAs as much as I can, paint the house and replace the windows. Only once I was thereby assured I would be unlikely to become a burden to my family in the future would I consider paying anything out to family, and even then it would only be to my three DC in respect of property purchases.

I'd make a sizeable donation to charity, either Mind or NSPCC or Barnardos.

Probably not tbh. Tax is going to cut your windfall by at least. 25% and potentially up to half. I’d keep it quiet and put it into the mortgage/in trust for the children.

No. Mortgage and debts will use up more than half. Put a big chunk in pension (so important). LISA s for the children and it's pretty much gone. I 'd keep quiet about it and maybe treat people to a meal or trip now and again as I wouldn't have a mortgage to pay, so more monthly disposable income, but I'd say I had had a small bonus or something. Trust me, people get very entitled expectations if they hear you've paid off your mortgage!

No. I wouldn't give anyone a penny, other than possibly a nice Christmas present.

That's not nearly enough money for it to be shared out.

In your situation I’d pay off the mortgage and debts. Save the rest but remember banks only cover £85k. Put 20k away each in separate isas.
This could set you up for life so for goodness sake don’t waste it on holidays and new cars.

i’ve namedchanged for this because it has basically happened to me - I unexpectedly inherited about 450k a few years ago. I have given about 45k to charity (two different charities) and I gave 30k each to four different sets of friends (basically envisioning it as a deposit for a house so people could get on the property ladder, although obviously once I give the money the recipient can really do what they want with it). I spent 180k on a flat that I live in (no kids and no dependents) and I was able to retrain. So yes, I would share this kind of windfall!

This is what you would get if you told anyone

Honestly this is extremely subjective.
so many variables present, the main of which being the relationship with the people near them.

For the average person this amount enables them to clear debt and “relax” a little, but I wouldn’t say it’s enough to share with others to the tune of thousands…
HOWEVER, if people around you are struggling like parents and close siblings or a specific close friend I’d share a token amount like £500-£1,000. (I would keep very quiet on the exact amount received and downplay it to like £50K or £75K because people become very entitled..).
However, when the time comes I’d be the one taking care of my parents.. so really that’s why contributions aren’t a thing..

Due to my beliefs though I would do charity to 2.5% of the amount received once my debts are paid off. (So if the amount after debts is £200K then I’d share that with different causes like a food bank, bless someone secretly where possible, support several “Just Giving” causes etc).