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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Am I being grabby and selfish (long story - inheritance related)

146 replies

RedHareWithBlondeHair · 18/07/2016 15:44

My mother has 2 children - me and my sister. My sister has 2 children and I have none.

For background - we are mixed - our father is English and mother Arabic. Me, my sister and mother and one of my nieces live in England, my other niece lives in our Arabic country.

My mother owns 7 pieces of land/houses all together (in her home country) - thus far, one piece is my sister's and another mine. The other 5 seem to be up for grabs. My mother has told me she'd like to make provisions in her will for both nieces wrt her estate. As I have no kids obviously there's nothing to be given to non-existent children.

My niece that is currently in the UK is severely disabled - she'll never lead an independent life and my other niece lives in our home country and is currently being supported by my mother wrt to school and upkeep etc - she's 21.

I should add that I have a massive family - my mum is 1 of 10 and I have countless cousins. My mother has paid a great deal of money towards their upkeep over the years - this meant paying for food, housing, bills, private education - the lot.

I've made it patently clear to my mother that I will not do the same. My niece often texts my mother asking for money and was surprised to learn that due to a sick spell my mother couldn't afford it. She is nearing retirement now and though she has a good nest egg for herself, she's now wondering what to do with the rest of her estate.

For one or two reasons I won't be having children in the near future. I can't afford them, I have no partner with whom I'd see a future with and I'm still changing careers.

My mother has a chronic condition which means she might not make it into her twilight years.

In her plans she'd obviously leave the 2 pieces of land that me and my sis already own to ourselves. But this leaves the question over the other 5 - which have appreciated quite a lot over the years. She wants to leave a provision for my niece over here who will need life long care when my sister can no longer manage it. She also wants to house 2 of my aunts and their children and also wants to leave my other niece something.

As it stands I'd only inherit my current bit of land. She's asking me to pay into the maintenance of the houses on the other pieces of land which I might not inherit - this isn't cheap and I'd feel resentful doing so. I'm now feeling like I want to walk away from the whole situation and let them all deal with it themselves when the time comes. Give up my bit of land and be done with. Perhaps only going back to home country for holidays if the feeling takes me. I've grown up here and don't feel the strong family ties with the others that she does. Despite being half Arab, when I'm there I'm still very much 'foreign'.

I love my mother and she's gone above and beyond in terms of paying for my education and lifestyle choices and also acting as a confidante. I suppose maybe I should take the view that I have a better way of living and more choices than the rest of that side of the family. When my father died over here, everything he owned went to his kids from his first marriage and his wife. My sister and I didn't get a look in and were lucky to be invited to the funeral.

I don't know what I'm asking, I suppose I'd rather just drop the whole thing. My mother's side of the family is full of so much drama - I don't even speak fluent Arabic (my sister does) and feel I'd end up getting screwed either way.

OP posts:
AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected · 18/07/2016 17:50

Here is a practical suggestion:

Your mother leaves a share in trust to any future children you may have after she dies. If you die having had no children that trust passes to your nieces, but if you do have children at a future date then they get a fair share?

AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected · 18/07/2016 17:52

p.s. it's not that rare for adult children to be completely cut out in favour of grandchildren.

However it's not always wise IMO for younger adults to inherit a lot too young (which happens when adult children as "skipped" in the inheritance), but there's nothing you can do about it Sad

RedHareWithBlondeHair · 18/07/2016 17:53

familyfarm I agree. That's what I happen to think ultimately!

2nds My father never took us seriously as a family unit - for him it sort of just happened. My mum was decades younger than him and to have a couple more children by an Arab woman was ridiculous in those times. My sister and I were children when he died, his others were in their 20s/30s. We wouldn't have stood a chance.

OP posts:
GarlicStake · 18/07/2016 17:56

There are more ins & outs to this than I understand. The one thing that leaps out to me is that you're being told to pay - via contributions to family - to inherit land that was bought with your money. That seems very unreasonable to me.

Can you put those odd £100 spare towards the cost of transferring this land into your name? Presumably you have supporting documents?

Afterwards, consider whether to allow the revenues from your land to support family members or just wipe your hands of them.

It sounds horrid: emotional blackmail conducted via finance is particularly unpleasant.

JsOtherHalf · 18/07/2016 17:58

Apart from anything else, your mum may be very foolish to gift anything to the niece with significant learning disabilities. As she lives in the uk, this information may be of some help.

JsOtherHalf · 18/07/2016 17:59

Grr, it didn't attach. Try again:

www.mencap.org.uk/willsandtrusts

RedHareWithBlondeHair · 18/07/2016 18:03

Garlic there are supporting documents but it'll have to be my dm that actually hands it over. To all intents and purposes it is her land.

OP posts:
Bestthingever · 18/07/2016 18:03

There are two problems here. One the division of the property. I think your mum is trying to be fair in terms of trying to provide for different circumstances and I think you'll have to accept that. However I don't like the fact that she has asked you to contribute to the maintenance. I'm concerned you will be asked to do more and more. Say no now. Dh is from an Arab country too and the expectation to take care of family members is too much. Don't allow that to happen.

RedHareWithBlondeHair · 18/07/2016 18:06

Which is a reason why I am angry because my sister won't have to bother with the same issue - she knows that our mum will put finances in place to support my Dsis' 2 children. Here it means £££. In Arabia it means even more £££. They will all be good!

OP posts:
Propertyquandry · 18/07/2016 18:07

2 things I don't quite understand here. Firstly, why didn't you contest your father's will. Secondly, is your mother actually asking you to contribute to the upkeep of land she's admitting will go to someone else? How is she justifying this to you?

AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected · 18/07/2016 18:08

It's a money pit!
If you are supposed to use your proceeds towards maintaining your nieces property.. I'ld ask that it goes to your sister so she can do the leg work of making your land work towards paying for the nieces upkeep

GnomeDePlume · 18/07/2016 18:11

One thing which rings out to me from this is your niece in the UK who will need life-long care. Has your mum had advice on how to leave an asset to someone in your niece's situation?

My DB is currently wrangling with himself on how to leave his estate to his nephews and nieces (he isnt married and doesnt have children of his own). One niece will always require support because of her SN. My brother is concerned that anything he leaves for her will then be taken off £ for £ from state support.

Is there a risk of that happening for your niece?

There was a poster on a different thread who was facing not receiving benefits because she was presumed to have benefit of land which she owned abroad.

Would this be something practical you could raise with your mum without it getting emotive?

Bestthingever · 18/07/2016 18:14

You're quite right to feel you might get screwed because you don't speak (or read) fluent Arabic. You wouldn't be the first unfortunately. It is a concern I have with my dh's assets in his home country.

Mrsraypurchase · 18/07/2016 18:16

JSotherhalf - yes you are absolutely right for highlighting issues for leaving money to the severely disabled niece. OP's mother would be wise to take proper advice if she wants to leave anything in her neice's name.

tb · 18/07/2016 18:19

OP, do you have any paperwork that proves that you paid for the land, and for that specific plot of land? As a pp has suggested, I'd look at getting this transferred in to your name.

You could always suggest to your dm that this will simplify her estate as the 2 plots of land belong to you and your sister.

Another thought, is the land in the UK or in the Arab country, possibly with French succession laws. If that's the case, it may have to be left in line with that country's succession laws - as both land and buildings are "real property".

As a pp has mentioned, many Arab countries have French succession law. If that's the case, then as she has 2 children, you and your dsis, then 2/3 of her estate in that country must go to you, split equally, and the remaining third she can leave as she pleases. The grandchildren do not have rights to inherit themselves, except when their parent is no longer alive or renounces their inheritance.

AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected · 18/07/2016 18:24

TBF though, this migh sound a bit cold, and it probably is, but isn't it the OPs SISTER'S place to look out for problems re care & inheritance for the niece?

Why is it the OPs job to highlight that as well as being asked to maintain it. OP sounds a bit like the scapegoat of the family all round.

I know that emotionally most of us would want to look out for our nieces, but why isn't the nieces mother looking into this and speaking up, is the OP always the one who has to put her neck on the line and speak up in this family?

For that matter, why isn't the DSis speaking up on behalf of her sister being effectively disinherited?

Speaks volumes about how things would progress if the OP remains within this set up after the DMother dies

RedHareWithBlondeHair · 18/07/2016 18:26

GnomeDePlume Nope my mother has received absolutely zero advice about how she'd do anything for my niece. Her plan is selling up some of the land to put into care. As I understand her plan is to leave X amount to her but in the charge of whomever's looking after her - which will be most likely be my sister. On top of my sister's other child. Plus my sister's own inheritance. I can't believe how fucking lucky my sister is. I don't want to sound bitter but she was a massive alcoholic who we all went to therapy with, she suffered with Schizophrenia which we all helped her with, she's now fine and I wish her all the best but I do wish I'd have gone off the rails like her. All I ever did was go to Uni and get a job, then did a Masters degree and get another job. My sister spent her life on drugs and having children.

Though she loves me and thinks the world of me, my sister has no IDEA of the hell we went through.

OP posts:
RedHareWithBlondeHair · 18/07/2016 18:27

I'm sorry but it's not fair! The only reason my DM is asking me to contribute is because I earn money. My sister cannot. Yet she'll be the one to walk away with an estate worth close to £5mill - she can fuck right off!

OP posts:
Puzzledandpissedoff · 18/07/2016 18:28

The rest of her family sees everyone in the UK as being 'rich'. If I start contributing - even though I can comfortably give £100 here or there, they'll take that as a signal that I'm ripe for picking

Yes, I was afraid of that ... in which case I'd be paying nothing which might encourage this impression

Please don't answer this if you'd rather not, but I'm wondering how your DM came to use your money for something in her name? I can just about see her holding it in trust for you, but to own it outright just doesn't seem to make sense. Or was this somehow done when you were a child and unable to speak out against it?

RedHareWithBlondeHair · 18/07/2016 18:36

puzzled My DM told me that I should invest in Arabic land which would increase in value. I knew it would and thus gave her the money. She went ahead and bought that particular land and even thought I'm sure she'd give my bit back to me I'm angry that my sister will inherit the whole thing just as a consequence of having a disabled child and another child that's on her way to Uni.

OP posts:
AdultingIsNotWhatIExpected · 18/07/2016 18:40

OP I do not think you should count on your mother giving you back "your" land Sad

At least not without restrictions such as it benefitting your neices Sad

Sorry, either walk away or look into trying to claim it in your name before she dies

MunchCrunch01 · 18/07/2016 18:41

is any of this really about you wanting children and feeling you can't afford them a bit? I still don't see what you can do other than cut your losses in this matter. But if you do want a DC, you should plan to see if you can make that happen.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 18/07/2016 18:48

My DM told me that I should invest in Arabic land which would increase in value

Yes, that makes sense on the face of it - but why was the money given to your DM and the land put in her name rather than yours?

Didiusfalco · 18/07/2016 18:53

I don't know about the rest of it OP, but I would set about getting the land you paid for back in your name and see how that goes.

PokemonGo · 18/07/2016 18:53

If the estate is worth that much then I think a 50/50 split with your sister would be fairest. The only reason I would have thought that it should not be 50/50 is if your disabled neice would not have had a enough money to live off and if she was unlikely to get it from her parents.

I'm not suprised that you feel bitter. I would too. I think your mother is being manipulative and controlling.

I have siblings who have been 'rewarded' for their fecklessness but only to the tune of my parents helping them get out of the latest drama they are involved in. It annoys me but I can understand it IYSWIM. Your situation is different because your sister is being rewarded with such a huge amount of money.

Have you spoken to your sister about it? If she had any morals she would want the money split more fairly.

Ultimately though, you DM can do what she likes Sad