Inheritance split - how to split when siblings have different numbers of children

[Benja1405]

Divorced parent died - two married sons in will, one has 3 children and one has 2. What do you feel is the fairest way for the estate to be split? Lawyer thought straight 50/50 between the two sons. Son with 3 children thinks 55/45 in his favour is fairer as he has more children. AIBU to think that this is unfair on the other son? Just interested in views, thanks.

50/50. You don't get awarded for having sex.

If this was my will I'd be giving a separate small to my grandchildren.

50/50

Definitely 50:50. It goes to the sons, not the grandchildren.

The parent has choices-

1. Pass inheritance to their own dc (in which case 50/50)
2. Pass inheritance down to children and grandchildren (in which case siblings get equal amounts to each other, but different generations may get different amounts)
3. Skip the children and pass straight down to grandchildren.

At the end of the day though whoever is sharing out inheritance gets to pick and everyone else just needs to be fucking grateful for what they get.

I don't think one person has gone with anything other than 50/50 which is correct.

If I was the son with 2 kids I'd say the wife was expecting twins to swing it the other way and see how the other son likes it 😂

Definitely 50/50 between the sons. It’s not the fault of one son that his brother had 3 kids 🤷‍♀️ If you want, you could leave each grandchild £1k (or an amount of your choice) and then split the rest 50/50 between your sons?

50/50 is correct.

The one brother choosing to have more children is irrelevant.

50/50. If the person who died had wanted it to be dependent on number of grandchildren they would have specified that.

50/50 surely? Isn't the split between the two sons, so 50/50?

Unless the will specifically states otherwise. Son with the extra DC has clearly got his money grabbing knackers on.

So I can’t have children because I have fertility problems - does that mean I don’t get anything from my parents?! Bizarre question to ask, 50/50 is the obvious answer.

It has to be equal between the two siblings so 50/50.

A relative of mine has recently spoken to me about this, she has three adult dc and they all have a different number of children. She is going to split her estate equally between her three dc.

50/50

Your son is being very rude expressing an opinion like that - what the fuck is he thinking?! You need to tell him in no uncertain terms that it is your will and he can like it or lump it.

Bahahah the 55/45 brother is an ass. And an idiot. And more things.. hahahaha

50/50. Without question.

Legally depends on what the will says (and if it's been drawn up correctly, if not then it may be a similar situation to being intestate).

If the late parent has left it all to the Little Piddlington Home for rescued dustbins then while unusual that's up to them, although dependents can challenge.

If the will leaves the estate to the children or the grandchildren it should be followed.

If the will says 55/45 that again is the decision of the will maker, not of the beneficiaries. If the will says 50/50 the greedy son has no case to demand more.

Splitting by the number of offspring the sons have produced is pointless. The son with two children might produce another in a year's time so would the brother who got 55% due to his three give the money back? I suspect not, there would be some outrage and excuse?

70:30, more to the one with only 2 children to compensate them for never having the joy of a third.

If that sounds batshit to you OP… that’s why it’s a unanimous 50:50!

50/50
If they want to leave to grandkids then split it evenly amongst grandkids and skip sons.

50/50.

If the parents had died when the offspring were pre kids, they'd have got half each. Their choice to have 2/3 kids should not affect what share of their parents estate they receive.

50/50. Irrelevant how many children they have.

Son with three children is going with 25% for each child and 10% for each grandchild then? That seems an unusually generous amount to give to the grandchildren in a grandparent's will but if that is the case then the 10% should go directly to the grandchildren not as an addition to the parent's 25%.

I guess it depends on the size of the estate but if the grandparent wanted to gift directly to the grandchildren I would have thought 40/40/5/5/5/5/5 or 45/45/2/2/2/2/2 would be more usual/acceptable than 25/25/10/10/10/10/10.

Agree 50/50.

However, one of my siblings, who has just 1 child vs the rest of us having 2, has been known to 'jokingly" comment that we should all spend double on that child to make it "fair". So the 55/45 person doesn't shock me.

I'm not sure why you're asking what is, clearly, not a real question. In reality, all that matters is what the will says. If the will says 80% to one child and 20% to the other than that's it - what either brother thinks is "fair" doesn't mean jack shit. The lawyer doesn't get to "think" it should be 50/50, they get to read the piece of paper and tell you what it says.

A will is decided by the deceased person who wrote it - what the lawyers or family members think about fairness after they've died is entirely irrelevant.

On my personal opinion of fairness, I'd do 50/50 between the two siblings or a lump sum amount to each GC and split the rest 50/50 between the two siblings. But, it's irrelevant what's fair - this isn't even a question, whatever the will says goes.

why is this not clear in the will?

50/50 unless they bypassed the siblings and went to grandchildren in the will in which case it should split equally by number

Maths obviously bad in 40/40 example but you get my meaning!