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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Are WBU? Financial gifts to nieces / nephews

100 replies

PlumsInTheIcebox · 22/05/2018 12:00

NC for this as some of the details are pretty specific.

DH and I came into some money about five years ago. We took the decision to give some money to our nieces and nephews, and created trusts for BIL’s three daughters and for my sister’s son. The children will be able to access the funds when they are 18. At the time, both families were complete but we have always intended that if either sibling were to have another child, we would do the same for them.

About 12 months later, BIL’s wife left him for the OM after an affair. They have, to their credit, both behaved pretty decently about the divorce and subsequent implications and everything is pretty amicable. They share custody and we still see BIL’s exW a few times a year at family events, usually her children’s birthday celebrations.

BIL’s exW is now expecting a child with her new DP, who will of course be a half sibling to our nieces. At the most recent family event she came over to sit with DH and me and after some small talk asked us about our plans to create a trust for her unborn child. We were both a bit stunned but DH managed to gather himself to explain that it wasn’t our intention to create a trust for her child with her new partner. She accused us of using her unborn child to punish her for cheating on and leaving BIL and stormed off.

DH is absolutely adamant that his loyalty is to his brother, not to his exW and any further children that she may have, and I am inclined to agree with him. Are we BU not to match our previous gifts for this or any other children that she may have?

OP posts:
emmyrose2000 · 22/05/2018 13:17

Good lord! I've heard it all now. But this is obviously a very selfish woman in general, so maybe it shouldn't have been a total surprise.

Maybe ex-SIL needs to have it spelled out to her that the recipients of the money are the actual children of your own siblings. Not children that are of no relation to you at all!

CoffeeOrSleep · 22/05/2018 13:21

Oh dear, looks like she hadn't quite realised that however much she views her children as all equal, by deciding to have children with more than one father, her children will have different sets of relations to each other.

On the bright side, in order for her to feel this way, it must be her new DP's family are all treating her children as part of the family, which is lovely.

I would tell BIL, not in a "your ExP is a CF", but more let him know you were asked, and that you only set up the trust funds because these are his daughters, if he went on to have more children with another woman you'd set up another fund for them, but you don't see this baby as your relation. This way he's prepared if his exP says anything to him.

ursuslemonade · 22/05/2018 13:27

Another poster here waiting for CalF to turn up with some bullshit😁
Op your ex-SIL is a cheeky fucker for expecting a trust fund for the new baby.

Titaniumpins · 22/05/2018 13:31

OP you hit the nail on the head its not your responsibility to make sure new baby has same as sibligs. She was being a CF.

bettytaghetti · 22/05/2018 13:34

Another one here whose gob is well and truly smacked! She is the one who has chosen to take her family in another direction so she should realise the consequences.

Furano · 22/05/2018 13:35

“Ha ha ha ha no fucking way”

Kamma89 · 22/05/2018 13:45

OP slightly different view here. YANBU not at all, BUT...depending on the size of the gift this might cause significant resentment/division later on in life for your nieces and nephews. If they grow up in same house with new sibling & then have wildly different leg ups in life that could be awful for all of them. I wouldn't give any more money, maybe offer to have existing trusts split between them all? Doesn't seem fair but don't let the children get caught up at all for mum's bad behaviour.

bettytaghetti · 22/05/2018 13:48

This is one of those threads where you really hope the protagonist is a mnetter and reads just how unreasonable everyone thinks they are!

CoffeeOrSleep · 22/05/2018 13:59

Kamma89 - yes, however the fact is, if children are half siblings rather than full siblings, then they have different family structures, however much the parent in common and their family see the children as the same, they are not.

This is an issue any person chosing to have DCs with more than one partner needs to consider. Their children will always have different family structures and you can't control how that effects them.

There may be inheritance from the new family's side that only goes to the DC of the new partner. (people do tend to leave their money to 'blood' relations, even if they treat step grandchildren the same as bio grandchildren when alive.)

Also worth noting that the new baby gets to live with both parents, the older DC only get to live with their Mum and her new partner, with access to their Dad, plus they had to go through the trauma of their parents splitting up. Money is only one way in which these children are different.

Allthebestnamesareused · 22/05/2018 13:59

Think of it like this - the half-sibling not related to you will have a whole other family inc grandparents, aunts, uncles etc who may evebtually either give money to or leave money to that child but who won't be leaving it your niece/nephews.

If would be different if was a second child of your actual brother

ichifanny · 22/05/2018 13:59

Is there anyway to make sure BIL rather than SIL has control over the trust funds just Incase she has plans for the money ? She seems to feel it involves her somehow .

CoffeeOrSleep · 22/05/2018 14:00

Actually thinking about it OP - be sure to give your BIL a heads up, she might be expecting him to take the new baby along when he has access of his DCs to give her a full break...

emmyrose2000 · 22/05/2018 14:14

Is there anyway to make sure BIL rather than SIL has control over the trust funds just Incase she has plans for the money ? She seems to feel it involves her somehow

Good point. It wouldn't surprise me if she tried to manipulate her children with BIL into giving part of the money to their half sibling when the time comes. If she did it with each of her daughters, then the fourth child might end up with more in total than the actual beneficiaries.

If Ex-SIL wanted all her children to have trust funds, then maybe she should have thought of that before running off with another man and having a child with him.

Aprilmightbemynewname · 22/05/2018 14:21

My ex tried to guilt my older dc to share money my aunt had left with half siblings - I told them those dc would inherit from their dgps.
All good.

Thehop · 22/05/2018 14:24

The baby will not be your relative!!! CF if the highest order to even think it never mind ask!!! You’ve akready been more than generous x

PlumsInTheIcebox · 22/05/2018 14:35

Thank you all for your comments.

As an aside and none of my business, I personally think 18 is too young to access a trust fund. Fine to be able to use sums for specific purposes such as education but not to get their hands on a lump sum.

I completely agree. I didn’t go into the details of how the trusts are set up in the OP as I didn’t think it was relevant to the AIBU but the children will need the trustees’ permission to withdraw funds between the ages of 18 and 21, after which they have full access.

The trusts are for £10k each, so a lot of money by anyone’s standards but I think give-you-a-head-start kind of money rather than set-you-up-for-life-so-that-you-never-have-to-worry-about-money-again. Obviously I don’t have any particular insight into BIL’s exW’s finances but her new DP is in a very well-paid job and they appear very comfortable. I don’t think it would be impossible for them to match the trust fund over the next eighteen years but I can’t be sure, and it is of course none of my business.

It’s interesting that so many of you advise telling BIL. I’ll discuss this with DH tonight. The children were very small when we set up the funds and I don’t know if BIL has ever explicitly told the children about them – I know that my sister hasn’t told my nephew yet. Given recent events I’m sure he’ll want to think about how he prepares his girls for any future awkwardness.

Is there anyway to make sure BIL rather than SIL has control over the trust funds just Incase she has plans for the money ? She seems to feel it involves her somehow

Each fund has three trustees – me, DH, and one of the children’s godparents – so none of the parents has direct access to the money.

OP posts:
HouseworkIsASin10 · 22/05/2018 14:35

Ha ha! OP do you fancy setting up a trust for my DD while you're at it?Grin

CloudPop · 22/05/2018 15:20

That was a really lovely thing for you to do for your nieces and nephews. Don't let this diminish what you did. Good for you.

BritInUS1 · 22/05/2018 15:24

Wow that is really rude ! I can't believe how cheeky some people are x

PaulDacreRimsGeese · 22/05/2018 16:18

10k is the sort of money that parents might realistically expect to be able to get near saving for a child themselves by their 18th birthday, unless times are extremely tough. Which it doesn't seem they are. Disregarding interest entirely, which we shouldn't because the market leading accounts are nearly 4% for kids iirc, that's only £556 a year. And with the pressure to save for her other children reduced too.

Mrsmadevans · 22/05/2018 16:25

That was so kind of you both to do that for the DC. I think she must be feeling really embarrassed OP. It is not up to you to fund her DC with another man. It is nothing to do with you and she is being very rude.

CornishMaid1 · 22/05/2018 16:50

She is very cheeky and you are definitely not being unreasonable.

The reason you are benefiting those children are because they are the children of your BIL and your nieces/nephews.

If the child was ex-SIL's by a previous relationship and raised by your BIL or if ex-SIL had had the affair, got pregnant by the OM and then her and BIL 'tried again' and were still together you may feel different.

However, whilst the child is related to your nieces/nephews, the new DC is not related to you or your BIL (whose children you are benefiting) so I am more surprised that she thinks the child should get anything.

If ex-SIL cares so much they could set up a trust for the new child and should just be grateful that you and DH are so generous to put money in trust for the children she has now with BIL.

Ohsuchaperfectday · 22/05/2018 17:11

Only read first page I'm astonished.
Utterly astonished. My dc own aunts who have no dc and are both very wealthy and have fabulous jobs.. Get our dc practically nothing. The fact you have even created little funds for them is amazing

CoffeeOrSleep · 22/05/2018 21:15

Wow - it's £10k? That's hardly a sum she can't match herself over 21 years. I find that even more cheeky actually! Under £40 a month saved should match that by their 21st.

Definately tell BIL. It could well be a sign of trouble ahead if she is so determined to see all her DCs as the same, she can't see he and his family will not see the child by the new man in the same way.

whiteroseredrose · 24/06/2018 19:32

If she saves £50 a month for 18 years there will be £10,800 in an account for her baby.

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