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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Inheritance Shame

966 replies

Lockdownschmockdown · 04/03/2021 22:43

Nc for this because might well get flamed.
My parents worked incredibly hard when I was growing up. We had a big house, v modest family holiday abroad once a year and I went to a private school but there was not much spare cash.
They came into money in their late 40s and retired immediately. Since then, they have enjoyed copious amounts of worldwide travel, extending a new house, plenty of socialising and hobbies, private dental care with full implants etc.
Now they are in their 80s and their money has almost run out.They own their house outright but this is the extent of their wealth. They are fine with this as their money has seen them through a great life, especially the last 35 years.
Most of me is really pleased they had such a great life and i should not expect an inheritance. A part of me is upset that they didn’t think to save a bit for me. I’m a single parent in a challenging, low paid job (which I love and wouldn’t change for the world) and £50k would be life-changing. Also, I’m only a few years off the age they were when they gave everything up and retirement seems so far away.
One of my main life goals is to earn enough to set my kids up as well as possible for when I’m gone. I couldn’t imagine keeping all my (imaginary) wealth for myself. I’m sad I guess that my parents didn’t feel the same way.
Should say that we have a good relationship and they did give me a small sum for a house deposit about 25 years ago. I think it was £20k.
So AiBU and a grabby cow?
Or do you see where I’m coming from?

OP posts:
viques · 05/03/2021 16:31

OP still hasn’t said what she would spend this life changing money on though.

I am going for a gastric band and skin removal surgery.

And a mini facelift. Maybe a bit of chin and eye work too.

Haven’t needed any of this work so not sure how the money would pan out.

steff13 · 05/03/2021 16:38

Do the properties in your portfolio generate income?

Mittens030869 · 05/03/2021 16:43

OP has had a very privileged upbringing, including a private education. To such an extent that they consider £50k a year a low wage at a million pound property portfolio which will bring in a considerable amount per year.

^This definitely. And she’s also lacking awareness of how privileged she is compared to most of the other posters on the thread. It’s hardly surprising that she’s getting a ‘hard time’.

Pinotwoman82 · 05/03/2021 16:55

Sorry but there is no way if I came into over 2 million I would just give my child(ren) 20k!
Of course it would depend on their circumstances but I would earmark at least a couple of hundred for them.

Pinotwoman82 · 05/03/2021 16:55

Hundred thousand that is!

scentedgeranium · 05/03/2021 16:56

Guys. She's having a chuckle I'm
Sure of it.
Drip feeding info that is out of whack with norms, and inconsistent.

Rosieposy89 · 05/03/2021 17:12

You sound spoilt and grabby. Release your assets it you're cash poor. I would never expect my parents to fund my lifestyle as an adult.

Newkitchen123 · 05/03/2021 17:19

@Lockdownschmockdown

I am at work but have read every reply. Thank you.

The misleading details are down to me being deliberately vague and rounding dates up/down for fear of being outed. This has also led to a misunderstanding of the value of my first flat. It was not particularly big or posh, neither was it in Bond Street but it was a great place to live as a student and very different from the student residencies some friends lived in. It was not uncommon for people to be living in their parents flats though, at least not amongst my uni peers.

My parents gave me the 20k which I used to buy a flat when I first went to uni in central London. I was just 18.

The 50k would change my life as I am asset rich but cash poor. I realise this will not always be the case and I am more privileged than most.

I have a great relationship with my parents and don’t expect anything from them. I am pleased they got to enjoy life.

When I compare myself to those around me (home counties) I am certain I am on a low income in comparison.

Must be a slow day at work if OP has read every reply!
LoveYourUsername · 05/03/2021 17:47

@Lockdownschmockdown

Come on, admit this was all a bit of a wind up. :)

You have blown it by your assertion that as a student 25 years ago you bought a London flat with only £20K as a deposit.

As an 18 year old you could not get a mortgage at the same time as being at uni.

Rules for loans were pretty strict then and interest rates were very high. We were just paying our mortgage in the mid 1980s and interest rates were sky high.

It doesn't add up.

What have you to say to everyone who's posted?

Hesma · 05/03/2021 17:52

You’re a grabby cow 🐄

LAgeDeRaisin · 05/03/2021 18:15

My husband and I have discussed this at length. We are wealthy but want our children to appreciate the value of money, so while they will be in the fortunate position of going to private school, and not worrying about living costs or tuition fees at university/further training, and potentially cosigning a mortgage or a small help with a deposit, I will not be giving them large cash sums because I honestly think it's important to earn your own money. They will be plenty privileged enough without expecting handouts for spending money too. They know that if they want money over and above the bare essentials, they need to get a job like everybody else.

It sounds like you have been similarly set up for life in terms of an education, a home, and even enough for a portfolio of investment properties.

You may be in the fortunate position to inherit a vast sum on their passing due to their 1m+ home. I agree that if you want extra spendingmoney you need to manage this yourself and liquidate some of your assets.

2018SoFarSoGreat · 05/03/2021 18:25

OP, if your parents inherited 2m, and that was 40+ years ago, they have lived on about 50k a year - not reduced by the amount they spent on the home you may well inherit. Nor the money they gave you. That's not exactly frittering it away. They are in their 80's and not yet out of money, so they've done well.

I have to say I think you ABVU. An inheritance on top of what you've already been given is a lot. They don't owe you more than an education, not to mention the large house deposit gift. Maybe count your blessings that they are both still with you and you are not subsidizing their lifestyle?

WoolieLiberal · 05/03/2021 18:31

I won’t inherit much. My parents are wonderful people and had a good life but hit hard times in retirement and did the “sell and rent back” thing for their house which seemed to be the right thing for them at the time. They use the money frugally but the longer they live the less there will be.

WHICH I DON’T MIND because I would rather have no inheritance at all and have extra years with them than have them die young leaving a few thou for me and the family.

I don’t think anyone should feel entitled to any kind of inheritance but I don’t begrudge those who get them.

ohhhhitsme · 05/03/2021 18:33

Aren't you going to get the house? How much is that worth?

Cocomarine · 05/03/2021 18:37

@ohhhhitsme sadhu OP said it’s only worth £1m+ so it’s not really worth considering.

Snog · 05/03/2021 18:40

I think you are hanging out too much with rich people. Presumably your current house is worth £750k+ and mortgage now paid off.

£50k is in no way a low salary even in the Home Counties. It's a real shame that you can't see how fortunate your current financial situation is and enjoy it.

WhirlingGerbil · 05/03/2021 18:42

What I would have expected to see from decent grandparents is, some help for DS's children, one of whom is literally working her way through uni now.

Gosh, how dreadful. What on earth will she do with that university education?

Oh yes. Use it wisely, get a job that pays decently, and make her own way in the world, understanding that she started from a relatively privileged position. Some people don't have the benefit of a loving family, let alone have their road to adulthood paved with blank cheques.

earsup · 05/03/2021 19:00

You got a sum of money years ago so dont moan...my late grandmother left more money to local church than to me...only grand child...I got £250 and church got £10000...!!..not moaning as i did inherit her house later on when her daughter passed away.

WhirlingGerbil · 05/03/2021 19:13

@GreenlandTheMovie To put my comments in context, I haven't read all the thread. You are probably utterly fabulous in real life, but your comments, the ones I've quoted, are breathtakingly entitled. To put my comments in context, I worked in probate for 10 years, watched people bicker and backstab and do the most horrendous things to each other, all over money.

The waiting for your inheritance comment was out of line. I apologise. Nevertheless, you clearly feel some sort of entitlement to that money, at least a small part of it, whereas even morally, you really don't have any.

I always found it incredibly sad watching what perceived slights - usually over money - do to families.

On the other hand, some people really do just have arseholes for parents, so there's that too.

GreenlandTheMovie · 05/03/2021 23:33

[quote WhirlingGerbil]@GreenlandTheMovie To put my comments in context, I haven't read all the thread. You are probably utterly fabulous in real life, but your comments, the ones I've quoted, are breathtakingly entitled. To put my comments in context, I worked in probate for 10 years, watched people bicker and backstab and do the most horrendous things to each other, all over money.

The waiting for your inheritance comment was out of line. I apologise. Nevertheless, you clearly feel some sort of entitlement to that money, at least a small part of it, whereas even morally, you really don't have any.

I always found it incredibly sad watching what perceived slights - usually over money - do to families.

On the other hand, some people really do just have arseholes for parents, so there's that too.[/quote]
Thank you for your apology. I am always upset like this after I've visited my parents, hence low contact.

It really is quite the opposite from which you imagine that applies to me. I expect no inheritance - I fully expect that the house is either re-mortgaged or it will be spent on nursing home fees. I have a full time professional job and run a small business. I'm actually very anti-inheritance, or at least I think IHT should be much higher, and I cannot abide people who live their lives, hanging around their parents waiting for them to drop - of course it happens.

I've worked throughout the pandemic, and your comment reminded me so much of another that I received on social media, about how I should "go and work in a hospital" when I pointed out that most people under 50 need not worry about covid. I had just worked late that day. I do wonder where people think that full time workers are going to actually fit in all their suggested extra jobs into, or whether their employers will be happy if they do.

I'm actually also really cross about your comment that I "clearly feel some sort of entitlement to that money". Without wishing to boast, I don't need my parents' money. I simply find lavish spending on consumer items, which are often traded in for more expensive versions, galling to watch in practice.

It is actually my parents who constantly ask me about wills and inheritances and got involved in disputes over my grandfather's farm. DM doesnt speak to any of her siblings as a result of the will. They're not arseholes, but they are very selfish people. It is one of DF's favourite little tricks to suddenly start talking about how I shouldn't expect to be left anything, right in the middle of an otherwise pleasant conversation at the dinner table. He hasn't worked since he was 50 and he is a very lazy, entitled, chauvanistic man. DM is better, but neither of them would put themselves out for anyone else and they have always been like that.

And no, there was no private education for me, and university wasn't funded either. I got no house deposit, no wedding paid for, no car bought - I'm not complaining, because I think easy inheritance makes people lazy and unambitious, simply pointing out that you could not be more wrong in your assumptions in this scenario, and that its really hurtful to read your comments.

Since you also work in the law, you will know that its advisable to stick to facts, rather than making things up. I do realise that dealing with that sort of stuff every day probably leaves you feeling a bit like I do after I've visited my parents, so perhaps you will have a bit more sympathy from those of us who have actually had the gumption to remove ourselves from those circumstances and make our own way in the world.

JustLyra · 05/03/2021 23:36

@GreenlandTheMovie You’re so rude

The poster apologised and you’ve just had another massive go. Yet you read my post wrong, had a go at me for it, doubled down on your rudeness when I pointed out you’d read it wrong and haven’t even acknowledged your mistake or resultant rudeness. So hypocritical.

GreenlandTheMovie · 05/03/2021 23:41

[quote JustLyra]@GreenlandTheMovie You’re so rude

The poster apologised and you’ve just had another massive go. Yet you read my post wrong, had a go at me for it, doubled down on your rudeness when I pointed out you’d read it wrong and haven’t even acknowledged your mistake or resultant rudeness. So hypocritical.[/quote]
I've not been rude in the slightest!

Could you please stop attacking me - this is getting ridiculous. Why do you have it in for me and keep following me around like this?

VinylDetective · 05/03/2021 23:42

That was seriously ungracious in the face of an apology.

JustLyra · 05/03/2021 23:43

Give over. The only attacking person was you when you misread my post and had a go.

But hey ho, do continue your takeover of the OP’s thread 👍🏻

2020iscancelled · 05/03/2021 23:49

OP I totally see where you’re coming from.

I think people are being particularly spiteful and unreasonable on here. Imagine if you changed the question to

“ I have won £2m on the lottery - I have given my adult child 20k for a house deposit but they won’t be getting anything else as I am now retiring and travelling the world”

People would be outraged that a parent had millions and all they felt to gift their child was a comparatively small deposit.

I personally am doing everything I can to hand over my kids a tidy sum when they are adults and then hopefully a decent inheritance when we’re gone.

Absolutely everything I do is with kids in mind.

Now if you were to say my parents sold their house for 150k and travelled the world at 70 I’d say good on them.

But your parents situation does feel odd to me, I couldn’t imagine doing the same.