Family want us to give financial gift back....

[Liskenly]

A couple of years ago DH's grandfather gave us a substantial financial gift (he was very wealthy). We'd brought a house that needed a huge amount of repairs and this money funded all of the repairs. We never asked for this money it was a spontaneous gift - his view was that we'd make better use of it than he did. We were very close to him and cared a lot for him prior to his death late last year. He has sadly now passed away. He has left the main part of his estate to be split between his 12 grandchildren (many of whom haven't seen him in the last 5 years). They are now insisting we give the gift back (taking it from the inheritance) so it can be divided between the 12 grandchildren with the rest of the of the estate (it has turned rather nasty). We're not wealthy, but we are comfortable, but can't afford to give back the money - basically it means we'd have to give £10k back to them as well as not have our 'share' of the inheritance. I've not met 5 of them but now recieving really nasty emails, texts etc. What would you do?

Ignore them

Unless there is proof that it was a loan or something to be taken out of inheritance they are being greedy.

Is there inheritance tax to be paid?

Of course you shouldn't give it back, it's not part of the estate. It was given to you as a gift when he was alive.

You have all got to abide by the terms of the Will. If he said, "Everything is to be split equally but any loans should be taken into account" then that's one thing (my uncle did that because he loaned his grandchildren money for cars etc and specified in his Will that those who hadn't borrowed shouldn't be penalised for that.) That was a gift, though, and if he doesn't mention it in the Will, then it shouldn't be taken into account.

Look up inheritance tax and taper relief on gifts.

@Coffee - the inheritence tax is already calculated for and taken out of the estate.

Absolutely ignore them! The estate is what was left when grandfather died - not everything he had in his possession several years ago!

His gift to you does NOT form part of his estate. If you feel you must engage with them, suggest they consult a solicitor and leave it at that!

Sounds like they’re trying it on. Ignore them, let a solicitor deal with it. If you’re entitled under the will to something more they can’t just decide that you’re not.

It's nothing to do with them. The terms of the will should be followed and I would ignore them.

You might be liable for inheritance tax on it. We had a similar gift from family and we were warned that if they died within seven years we would need to pay.

I’d speak to a lawyer to find out what your position is.

Money brings out the worst in families ...

Ignore them

What your husband's grandfather did with his money while he was alive is none of their business. I wouldn't even respond to their nonsense.

How do they even know about the money? Rude and grabby, ignore them!

Ignore them. They can’t “stiff” your partner out of any money left to him in the will. That’s a legal document.
They’re on a hiding to nowhere.

If (and a big if) you were to 'give back' the 10k, why wouldn't you have a one 12th share of the inheritance?

I agree with PP though, it was a gift when he was alive and should not be taken into consideration. They are just greedy bastards.

Ignore them.

You may have to consider the gift in terms of inheritance tax that may be owed on the value of it.

However to answer your actual question, you should not give the gift back to the estate if it was not stipulated in the will.
The gift is completely separate to the estate to be split in the will.

If you barely see them anyway then you lose nothing by sticking to the will.

The gift has been added to the value of the estate for IHT purposes.

I think you probably need proper legal advice.

I think you need to get proper legal advice about what the exact wording of the will stated.

Did he give you 10,000 pounds? Or is this the tax due on the money he gave you. They may be in the right here so you need to either give us more specific information about amounts and dates or visit a solicitor and ask.

If you are in England and Wales, what communications have you had from the Executor, OP? What have they asked you to do? If your DGP made their wishes clear at the time and it is consistent with their will then I would sit on my hands and feel sorry for the DGC who did not see their DGP for years so didn't get to enjoy their relationship with him. If anyone continues to contact you, I would reply to say that you are sorry they did not spend time with their DGP and you would be happy to share any family stories or information they might want. Unless there is anything fruity from the executor then i would respond to further enquiries regarding the money to say your DGP made his wishes clear with his will. If they have any further enquiries then they should direct them to the executor. Perhaps you might not expect Christmas cards from all the family this year.

If your gf wanted that to be taken into consideration, it surely would have been written into the Will.

I'd ignore the nastiness.

YANBU. However before you jump in and tell them to stick it, do check whether the original gift is eligible for taxation - if it was given within 7 years of his death then it will be - and you want to have all your ducks in a row in case of legal arguments / solicitors getting involved.

I would be in the ‘tell them to sod off’ camp but if the gift was only made a few years ago then it will be subject to inheritance tax. I’m
Not sure who is liable to pay the tax on gifts- the estate or the recipient but it would be something worth checking. £3k of it would have been tax free.