Did inheritance in middle age change your life?

[dragonsbbq]

We may or may not inherit in the future depending on circumstances, it could be very little or a substantial amount. I wonder how it would change things for us if we did inherit as we have already had to work hard to get on the housing ladder and our DC are nearly finished school. I think it might have made a bigger difference to inherit at a younger age. Has anyone inherited a substantial amount and how did it change things for you?

What age are you talking about? Middle age means very different things to people?
No inheritance ever coming here but would have made a lot more difference to us at 40 than it would have made to us at 55 when we were pretty much sorted ourselves.

Dh inherited from his dad when he was 50yo.
It didn’t change anything for us just now.
It will make retirement much more manageable.

As a previous poster , we are varying ours to help the adult dgc of the deceased.
Too late in my case, 69 and would make a substantial difference to the next generation

Inherited £230k when I was 35. Paid of mortgage, had a holiday, paid debts and had a holiday or 2. Now I’m 58 and inheriting £70k, which won’t make much difference to be honest…I don’t nee it now, I did then.

It was 2008 during the banking crash when Lloyds merged with HBOS. Stock market was on its arse, 5 years later things were good.

My Dad has just inherited a shed load aged 89! He is very generously varying it to three recipients in their 60s, some of whom are varying once more to the next generation down again.

first inherited from my grandparents (a small but helpful sum) then more when my inlaws passed away within a year of each other.
it all helped; with dept paid off sooner we were able to fund the kids university educations and they graduated debt free.
then later when my father passed and i split that equally with my adult children and now with my mother's passing again splitting it with the adult children.
we're in a much better financial position for ourselves and better positioned to help should the adult children need help or even potentially the grandchildren.

I inherited twice as a young adult - a direct result of my mum dying (but not from my parents) when I was a child. Not loads but the timing meant I could afford uni and a part gap year with no structural help from parents (could not go ‘home’ in holidays after first year and absolutely no financial or practical help after 18) due to the first. The second paid for my first car and furniture for my first home. We have given our young adult DC the equivalent so I do see it as very well timed to prevent me from being further disadvantaged by not having parental help. In that respect it was very much life changing at the time - but equivalent to what a lot of my more middle class friends got from parents, When my dad died ten years ago I got £7K, and that paid for a very nice new front door (we would hve got it anyway but I like the fact the money was assigned to something I see and enjoy every day).

We’re now mid fifties and I would be very surprised if I inherited more. DH may inherit (max £250K) but the plan is to do a DOV straight to our DC if they are at the right life stage then, as we are in the fortunate position of really not wanting more money in our estate, That would still be significant to us as it will mean we won’t ‘need’ to be as structurally generous to DC/justify spending more of our own on ourselves.

Yes, paid off the mortgage which enabled my husband to retire early from a job he wasn’t enjoying, and then with him taking over everything at home, I was able to really commit to my career and earn substantially more, before I retired early as well.

Yep - it's been lovely! We've given some to the DC, saved and invested some, spent some on boring stuff for the house and garden, and splurged some.

I inherited £65k from my Dad in my late 30s which I used to pay off the mortgage for our house, (and the last few grand of my student loan) I was pregnant and it meant after maternity leave we could survive off one income for a while so I became a SAHM until my child was nearly 3. That was pretty life changing and I was very grateful to be in that position, I then went back to work part time in a related industry with less stress (although worse pay) and we did move to a bigger house and now have a mortgage again, (the payments are roughly what I now earn)

So yeah , thank you, Dad. You gave me a massive mental health break and extra time with my baby. Xx

If we inherit again, (although hopefully not for a long time) we would probably do the same, as in paying off the mortgage. Xx

We inherited about 100k from a godparent who had no children of his own, when we were about 40. This helped us get a bigger house and extend it. We inherited from a parent when we were about 50, paid off the mortgage, replaced both cars and had a few nice holidays, with enough in the bank to comfortably support both kids through uni.
Both made a huge difference to us. We don't splash the cash but we don't have to worry. We are unlikely to inherit anything more and that's fine.

We are early 50s and my husband recently inherited enough for us to clear our mortgage and have some left over. Probably not life changing per se but absolutely lovely to have the freedom and spare money now

If all our parents were to die now we’d be millionaires (just!) but we’re encouraging them to spend it on things that make them happy in their old age. Also, there may end up being care home fees to factor in and whatever rise life throws at us all,

Would it change our lives? Yes. We’d move to a smaller but better house, semi retire / go part time / possibly buy a business, and spend a few years on and off travelling as well investing for our kids.

DH has very recently inherited just over £700k. We’ve used that the clear the mortgage on two properties, I’ve dropped down to a four-day week, and we’re planning a three-week long-haul holiday. Topped up savings and investments too. Pensions already maxed so can’t do anything there.
Have lent £40k to a family member.

The biggest freedom for us is the monthly money that’s freed up now it’s no longer going on mortgages.

It has been utterly life changing.

Edited to add: we’re mid-to-late 40s.

yes, it did. I inherited around £200k a couple of years ago aged 53. It has enabled DH to take a step down after burn out from teaching and for us to pay the 2 DC through uni

Inheritance imminent. Kids mid teens.
It will pay for essential maintenance to the house, possibly a foreign holiday (never been abroad as a family). Rest will be invested to supplement my pathetic pension.
There will be ongoing property income which will support kids for work, study, investment etc.

I inherited £85k at 38. Put a chunk on the mortgage and the rest paid for a kitchen, utility room and bathroom reno.

I think it might have made a bigger difference to inherit at a younger age

Certainly! Which is why I would recommend you pay at least the lion's share of it forward to your children to get them on the housing ladder.

Yes. I inherited a bit from my Dad. I put it into a savings account, and a few years later, it allowed me to retire a couple of years before state pension age. It gave me two extra years of relaxation and fun, and two fewer years of working 65 hour weeks in a heavy duty professional job. Thank you, Dad.

DH inherited a lot when he was 45 and I was 40. After he lost his Dad, having lost his mum at 25.

We were able to move house, pay off the mortgage and put some into savings

Mid 30s I inherited £30k which plus savings allowed us to extend our house. This was a godsend when covid hit a couple of years later as 2 small children and 2 adults working from home would have been cramped.
A few years ago we got a passed down inheritance of £120k as inlaws didn't need it. Spent some on a few house projects and put the rest on the mortgage. This was just before our fixed rate ended and rates had shot up so our payments only went down a bit but they would have gone up massively. We'll be mortgage free soon. This takes a weight off knowing your home is safe.
Care needs dependant we still stand to inherit around a million from 3 different sources (so unlikely to come at once). If it was sooner rather than later that would allow earlier retirement and more holidays. If later which is more likely as they've all had parents live a long life (1 still alive at 102) then we would be able to help our children massively.

DH's Dad left a reasonably substantial sum to each of his children 25 yrs plus ago. As far as I'm aware, DH was the only one of the siblings who saved/invested the sum. MIL had a really good pension both from her own employment and FILs. But she also had to sell a house with a mortgage and moved to a quite substantial property. She was a generous person and a big spender and foolishly went down the equity release route rather too recklessly. There want anything left to speak of after MIL passed but just enough to ensure she was living with good care at the end of her long life.

For me it was different. My parents both lived into their 90s and in good health for the majority of that time. Their pensions were not as generous but sufficient. I lost my only sibling and inheriting from my parents was very useful to help DC through uni. I wasn't 'young' but I'm not yet retired, if you see what I mean.

We received a large inheritance in our 30s which enabled us to do our house up, a further much smaller one in our 40s which cleared some debt and some put aside for the dc driving lessons etc. Now in 50s another one incoming, which will clear a large chunk of mortgage. If we receive the last one, we will be in our 60s/70s I imagine, so will go straight to dc. So yes, both the one in our 30s and 50s have been life changing for us. Thanks to my DH family!

I inherited at 50, gave half to my partner and we both bought a car each. His because of the Ulez charge that came in and his car being too old and had to pay to visit his dad 3-4 times a week.
My partner has inherited this year, from his dad. It's been life changing for him, even aged 60.