250k inheritance to spend but on what??

[TheMuminator2]

Came out of the blue from a relative we hadn't seen since we were young. Am tempted not to spend a penny and just invest

If any of your children are considering Uni, what about a btl property that they could live in (and you get the rents from the other occupants) while they are at Uni. So you have an asset thst gives you a return, and you can then decide to sell/not sell, after the dc has finished Uni.

Check how much tax you need to pay on it before you spend it

Why would there be any tax?

Assuming you mean inheritance tax, that is a paid for out of the deceased’s estate before the estate money is divided up.

So there should be no tax for Op to pay at this point in time.

Just watch though - you will pay tax on any interest generated over 1k per person in future years, but that can be reduced if you put it in ISAs, pensions and pay the mortgage off.

I wouldn’t spend more than about 5k. The rest should be saved for retirement.

Honestly you should just go and see a financial advisor. I wouldn't pay off my mortgage as the interest is low and I could get a better return just spreading it out over a load of bonds. If you're asking a forum what to spend it on there's obviously nothing pressing you need so I'd maybe have a set amount (less than 10k) for some treats (a holiday?) then invest the rest after getting advice from a financial advisor who can tailor it to whatever level of risk is acceptable to you. In the mean time plenty of savings accounts are offering around 1.4% to 1.5% interest.

Depends on your situation. I would pay off my mom and aunties mortgage, buy a house outright, quit my job and go part time.

Pay off your mortgage, then save what were your mortgage payments in a tax efficient way, maybe pension.

I would buy a flat in my Dc name, tent it out and let the income help them through Uni.

Or buy a flat, rent it out, save the income for pension / use for holidays.

Blimey motherheroic, all that on £250k?

I would hands down buy anew car. I’m sick of the weird noises mine makes

just about to inherit a similar amount from my father (not sold the family house yet)

my rough plan is: 50k each for two children as house deposit; 50k on house improvements; 50k holiday fund; 50k charity donation (I'm researching homeless charities in local city).

our mortgage is not far off being paid and our pensions are good. we have a sufficient savings cushion. we have no desire to pay for private schools (getting towards end of secondary anyway).

obviously we will have to work out where to invest the parts I am not spending soon. am going to start by filling up our ISA allowance for this year. will probably invest in stock market trackers as can be fairly long term. I think property takes too much judgement and admin for me - and puts all your eggs on one basket.

I think it is shocking that I don't have to pay any inheritance tax, so the charity donation is to make up for that.

be wary of paying uni fees. most student loans never have to be paid off.

pay off the mortgage or buy a BTL with no mortgage. no-brainer.

@irregularegular you don't have any friends who may benefit from a little help or even put some in trust for future grandchildren? Really? You're going to piss away £50k to charities (I hope small local ones if so!) because you think y

...you should pay inheritance tax on a sum that is about the same value as just an average 2/3 bed semi across half the country? Are you insane?

Pay off your mortgage . Whatever you do , do not buy an expensive car or go on a ridulously expensive holiday! Invest anything left over in an isa and savings for your children for uni or house deposit. Use the money you save on mortgage payments to pay for holidays or update cars etc . Theo’s is an amazing opportunity, use it wisely .

THIs is , who’s Theo ?

Selfishly, charity would be the last thing on my mind . If you sort this out correctly you can think about a charity donation in the future . Sort out your own family and situation first . Definitely do not give 1/5 of it away . That’s madness

Fiveredbricks. Total is 800k, but split three ways. It would be even worse if it all went to just one child, but even so I think that we should be paying inheritance tax at about the same rate as income tax. Spread the windfall over 5 years (say) and add to your income and pay income tax in the normal way. I think it is a terrible source of social immobility that inheritance tax is not higher - it is far more likely to go to those who already have money than those who don't.

We have a high income .Good pensions. Over £1 million in house equity. Our grandchildren will most probably inherit just fine. There are plenty of people vastly more in need than us or any of our friends or family. I will do plenty of research on the charity, thank you.

Congratulations OP! This is boring advice I know but do speak to a good Independent Financial Advisor about the best way to handle this very large injection of funds, what the tax and other legal benefits and responsibilities are before making too many binding decisions. This large sum can make such a positive change in your life!

As a couple you can pass down 900k to your child(ren) if it includes you main residence without tax. Set to increase soon to £1m. Shocking.

www.moneywise.co.uk/news/2018-10-30/average-inheritance-hits-11000-and-those-aged-55-to-64-are-most-likely-to-receive

250k is at the very high end of inheritance

I'd spend 200,000 on house then 50,000 for some amazing holidays a frivolous things you couldn't usually buy but would love!

“. I wouldn't pay off my mortgage as the interest is low and I could get a better return just spreading it out over a load of bonds.”

Not if the OP is on a high fixed rate. Shoving it in best paying bonds is risky unless you KNOW you don’t need access to the money for a long time. You don’t get great rates for just a one year bond.

I'd spend 10% on fun stuff, a nice family holiday and a beautiful piece of furniture for the house. Then the rest would slowly be trickled into mortgage (got early payment fees for next few years) and maxing out our S&S ISAs then the remainder on mortgage when no fees apply. Once mortgage reduced/paid off up AVCs and ISA payments.

On the effect of inheritance in exacerbating inequality:

www.ifs.org.uk/publications/8836
www.ifs.org.uk/publications/8831

I'm no saint. Arguably I shouldn't stop at 50K. I really don't need it. But 50k is enough to make me feel better while still leaving plenty to have fun with.

Irregular:” I think it is shocking that I don't have to pay any inheritance tax, so the charity donation is to make up for that.”

The tax is paid before it is distributed. Do you think that you should then each pay more tax on the portion you then receive?