Inheritance- what to do with it?

[Lostintheforesttoday]

Hi all. Posting here for traffic. I’ve just inherited some money from my parents - around £190,000 after taxes/ expenses. Please don’t tell me I’m lucky as I’m still really traumatised and devastated by my Mums fairly recent death (suicide) and I’d swap any amount of money to have her back, in a heartbeat.

But I can’t, so here I am, someone who has never had a pot to piss in before with that money and no fucking clue what to do with it. I have a house already that I don’t want to move from or change. I have some student debt I want to pay off, ( my own and my two eldest children’s) - around £20,000 total, plus I want to put some away so my youngest 2 DC (11 and 12) can go to Uni if they want.

Other than that I have no clue what to do with it. I’m currently Re-training for an NHS career but on a year off due to health issues. When there I lived on an NHS bursary and wages from my part time jobs. During the year off Uni I was living on my wages topped up by tax credits (that have now stopped).

I’m 41 but have no pension so am aware I need to do something about that. I know I should get some financial advice but find it very difficult to trust people tbh. I also have quite a history of MH problems (BPD and PTSD) and can be quite impulsive and not always very rational, and I’m scared I’m somehow going to blow it all on sod all or lose it all by making bad decisions. That really scares me as my Parents worked hard for that money and I’d feel like I was letting them down.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice to offer. I feel completely out of my depth, and also that I don’t deserve it as I haven’t worked for it. I’m also worried that my ex husband will make a claim for some of it - we’ve been separated since 2008 due to his violence but are still not officially divorced as I could never afford it. I know my Mum hated him for what he did to us, and that she wanted to change her will in case something happened to me and he got my share (though she never got around to it).

Apologies for any spelling/ grammar errors - I’m on a very small and very crap phone!

Adnerb95

I will say there is a real difference between these "professional" IFAs and proper wealth managers. A proper wealth manager from a decent firm WILL know their stuff. The problem is that they will only consult with people who have substantial portfolios*

Of course there is, they are completely separate from each other in the jobs they do. A wealth manager does not know the intricate personal financial circumstances of their clients, or give a fuck if you're vulnerable - that's the IFA's job.

What's a "proper" wealth manager?

Do people realise that many wealth managers are just IFAs working with tied products for high net worth individuals?

Right for all the IFAs on the thread my suggestion to you is that you get a job at B&Q. That's where your skill levels are at. Get going and learn that paint section - for sure they need some help right there

And ditch the idea that you can advise people about money. You can't. And I am waiting for IFAs to be the next PPI scandal.

What does it take to be an IFA? The answer is nothing, it's an absolute scandal that these people are advising anyone.

Pearls I don’t know what qualifications you need to work at B&Q but I do know what you need to be an IFA. You obviously don’t.
Please check your facts before you post. This is a good starting point www.fca.org.uk/firms/professional-standards-advisers

And in a "profession" that is closer to sewage than being a real and proper profession, the wealth managers are better than the rest

But the bar is not high. Seriously, the bar is not high.

The reason that I am posting this is that the OP might get misleaded. "oh, do consult an IFA" the sort of post that gets posted by someone who does not have the first clue. IFAs are idiots. They don't even have to have GSCE level maths.

You would be better advised op to trust to your common sense

Delighted by the way to have the opportunity on this thread to debunk IFAs. Bunch of idiots. Bunch of uneducated generally thick idiots. You would get more sense out of your gardener.

PS, not an IFA, never have been.

The bilge you are spouting Pearls is far more dangerous and ill-informed.
IFAs need to be qualified to a far higher level than GCSE maths. I don’t know how many times you need to be told that, but you still don’t listen.

And FYI Pearls those wealth managers you hold in high regard are, in the main, just IFAs. With the same qualifications. They just work with a different client base.

Does the truth hurt? I guess it does

I'm a veteran investor. I have a substantial portfolio. The IFAs on the thread are currently checking their GCSEs (don't worry - you can probably count them on the fingers of one hand) and probably you might earn more at B&Q. It's a win-win. You get to master the paint section, we get help on the paint section and you never have to lie to a client again. Everyone's a winner.

Pearls I repeat, I am not an IFA. I am, however, congniscent of the facts - the qualifications required and the regulatory regime for IFAs. Something you are wilfully ignorant of.
You are also coming across as an incredibly unpleasant and ignorant person. Enjoy your money. It can’t buy you common decency it seems.

1. Pay off your debts

1. Set aside an emergency fund (3 months wages)

1. Savings accounts and Cash ISAs pay rubbish interest but inflation is rising.

Effectively, the value of your cash is being eroded all the time, so don't feel guilty about spending money over the next couple of years to replace/refurbish/service or purchase something.

1. Go for 'safety and security' first if you need to park more than 85K£ on deposit. Opening an account with NS&I (National savings) can be a sensible choice for those who don't want to take risks. NS&I also have some safe products.

1. Set up a stocks and shares ISA for yourself. Get advice about a couple of low cost funds (Vanguard Life Strategy or Global Index Trackers from a range of companies). There will be peaks and troughs, but leave them alone to grow over the long term.

1. Set up Junior Isas for each child. Get advice about invest-and-leave-to-take-care-of-themselves products. Drip feed a set amount, every month by direct debit into the children's ISAs. Avoid putting all the money in at once.

Good luck

Dunno what you're on about

The whole regulatory scheme for IFAs is nonsense. It's not a profession any old dipshit person with no qualifications whatsoever (they don't even have to have GCSE level maths) can become an IFA

Seriously it's like talking to a shoe salesman at clarks. They're complete idiots and anyone taking their advice does so at their own risk.

Pearls your blatant disgust for shoe salesmen and those who work at B&Q says more about you than the IFAs you hate so much.

I'm not an IFA either.

IFA robbed my mother and others and went bankrupt and hid his gains in another’s name.
He advised them to do things that were safe as safe is in investing anyway. They signed but in fact they signed different papers as well thinking it was all what they had read and been told,he then walked with there cash as what they signed in fact in amongst the paperwork was to invest in a highly volatile company that was on verge of bankruptcy. It appears he didn’t even invest in it just pocketed there cash and told them it was all lost.
He did 18 months inside but was given 4 years and 12 months was in open prison. So he really did just have a holiday and stole nearly a million that came out in the court.
And now is employed back in similar business under another’s name we just found out.
Personally I’d not trust any IFA ever and this was the icing on the cake.

Crooks sadly, Sue, in all walks of life. That is dreadful. Idiots and con men like this make it hard for those on the receiving end to trust - quite understandable.

No great consolation, but they really are a rarity, as are the Harold Shipman's, dishonest Accountants, etc etc.

Just sorry you and your family went through this. Disgraceful.

Of course, the FSCS should have compensated your parents - we sometimes help those who have been badly served to go through the claims process and are usually able to get full redress.

Also, he would never be deemed a fit and proper person with that history and so would never get authorisation as an adviser again. If you have information that he is masquerading as an authorised adviser, please report it to FCA!

Problem is he works now and it’s his brothers nanec@bove thé door we reported hi. But they couldn’t prove he gave advise as the brother insisted it was just him,weirdly the brother lives on scilly isles so I don’t quite see how he commutes daily to do so so it’s obvious rubbish but in the day they checked they couldn’t prove it

Name above the door

So it’s just a front to allow him to carry on

The outfit will be on their radar - I would be confident they will get them - let us hope before anyone else is conned!

Don't pay off the student "debts".

Take some financial advice, and before divorcing.

Premium Bonds in the meantime would be good.