Is there anyone who WON’T be receiving an inheritance?

[PinkMoscatoLover]

I’m not sure if it’s just me but sometimes I read posts and feel so out of touch! It seems like everyone and their dog on MN will receive an inheritance when a family member passes away.

Not one person in my family has a mortgage or owns their home outright. Those of pension age don’t have any pension savings saved up and rely on state pension (not too sure if that’s the correct wording as I’m not 100% on how it all works.) No one has any savings that they’ll pass on to their children/grandchildren/nieces & nephews etc.

I actually saw a comment on a thread that said, ‘can you ask your parents for an early payment that can just be taken out of your inheritance?’ Not everyone gets inheritance! Surely I can’t be the only one?

Just to add, this isn’t a post to say ‘oh boohoo look at me, I won’t receive anything when a family member passes away.’ It’s more a post to see if there’s other people on MN that have a similar family set up to mine!

Similar situation to you @PinkMoscatoLover - my whole family are low income and most are in council properties while a few privately rent. I’m the first in my family to go to university or own a property. I’m fully anticipating having to pay funeral costs for both parents too.

I received a very bizarre phonecall from MIL during covid lockdowns a few weeks after the birth of our first child where she excitedly informed me that my son will be a “very well off boy” thanks to her side of the family as he had been added to the wills of her, DHs sister & BIL, DHs uncle and DHs Grandad. She started rattling off property values, savings and how the wills were split etc, and telling me DS would be able to buy a family property outright when he turned 18 🙄 She then asked what my family would be leaving him 🙄
She must keep a little book of everyone’s finances 😂 it was all a bit tacky just how excited she was over the idea of all this money. DH was furious with her and I just politely reminded her that I’d be putting her into care at the first opportunity so her money would be going on care fees 😁😂

Slightly off topic but I would strongly recommend that you do find out about pensions and how they work. Paying in now, if you possibly can, or finding an employer who makes a decent contribution, will give you peace of mind later. I'm rattling towards retirement. It comes quicker than you think :(

My MIL has about enough to pay for her funeral, maybe £1k each left for her kids. My mum owns her own small house in a cheap area but has alzheimers and is likely to need several years in a care home so there won't be much left there either. So although we'll probably get a small inheritance it will be tiny.

I don’t expect anything. I’ve recently gone NC with my dad, so I suspect I’ll be written out of his will soon.

I just politely reminded her that I’d be putting her into care at the first opportunity so her money would be going on care fees

That’s quite nasty although I suspect you didn’t actually say this

No hope of any inheritance being left as all money from sale of mil house now going into care home fees.

No inheritance here, already financially supporting one set of parents and expect to help the others out at some point.

Me
Father married to a much younger wife ( note she's lovely and we are close )

Nothing from my mum she doesn’t have to pennies to rub together, dad beloved I’ll get him house, as owns his own, but due to his health can see that going on care fees.

Me and my DH

Me.

My parents split up when I was 18. My dad remarried and left everything to his second wife when he died. My mum didn't think it was fair that my dad's second wife would benefit and her partner not so she made it clear to my brother and me that she would be leaving everything to him 🤷🏻‍♀️

She gets to keep £20 000 even if she is paying her own care hone fees so that would cover a funeral.

My father arrived at his third marriage arms a swinging and has cocklodged for 20 years, doubtful that anything more than the funeral bill will arrive from him.

Mother died in the 90's leaving nothing (not even a sentimental letter to her kids) DH's parents pleas pension poverty daily even though they shop in Waitrose so not expecting anything from them.

DH and I OTOH will leave a generous inheritance when we leave the planet

Nothing here.
We are ok, would have been nice but there you go.

Me! My dad is dead and my mam only receives a state pension and lives in a council house.

My parents died in debt. Where as my dh parents had a nice nest egg for their retirement and own a lovely home. But they are both in need of care now. The best eggs gone in the last two years for care for MIL and nowFIL has been diagnosed with dementia. There will be nothing left when they go. They had saved a lot to hand down to their children when they passed just as their parents had before them. Their inheritance had enabled them to buy their home and set them up. This just doesn't happen anymore really does it. Anything you manage to save is used for your care in older age. I rarely hear of anyone having anything passed down anymore.

We will be making sure our (dh and I) savings etc are used to give our children a leg up before we are old. We already have accounts for them and helped the older ones to get on the property ladder.

I'm froma country where you have to give your kids 50% and you don't have to sell your house for carehome fees. Just a % from your pension. Unless they decide to retire elsewhere or a to a private carehome where you pay everything yourself. I wish they do use their money but as pp mentioned it is different from mot getting anything cause there isn't anything.

On the other hand, my dp's dad said that he and his wife are giving everything to the wife's nieces and nephews. That feels a bit crap cause no way in hell are they gonna come and take care of him/them. But oh well, If that's what fil wants.

Me and my brothers. My parents own nothing and are fully financially dependent on us (incredibly poor money management their whole life and a real manana/someone else will sort it attitude). We bought them a house to live in a couple of years ago, so it is already ours, not an inheritance. It's fine.

No it's not. But we frequently see people with large inheritances whinging about how hard it is for them. And going on about how they've lost a parent as if people who received nothing apart from a bill for funeral and house clearance expenses haven't also just lost a parent.

DP and I are very unlikely to. Both his parents will struggle to afford their own retirement; my parents are in a slightly better position but unlikely to leave anything. I also think too many people rely on this and should be aware care home fees can drain that 'inheritance' if they're needed.
We happen to have a lot of friends who have received enormous cash gifts and inheritances, and while we are happy that they have this stability it can be tricky when they just don't understand that not everyone gets that. For us personally, we'll be OK and with hard work and a bit of luck we'll be able to support any children, but on a societal level it's pretty grim how inheritance is now speeding up social divisions and making social mobility hard. If you're from a poor background you can work really hard and achieve well, but even on a very decent salary it's a huge challenge to get on the property ladder and build wealth without a lump sum handout.
The issue isn't that parents should need to scrimp in retirement to ensure an inheritance. We need massive social changes so that inheritance isn't the main way to secure financial stability.

Well my folks are on benefits (pension credit and housing benefit) and rent so nada here. If they have anything in their accounts when they pass, it'll be money my siblings and I have given them. I know where you're coming from though OP, it's so eye opening when you realise how different other people's idea of normal is! The expectation of inheritance, the assumption that parents will support you through uni, the reliance on the fact that you'll never be destitute or homeless because you'll always have a room at your parents house, always be able to call on the bank of mum and dad to get you out of a tight spot! I adore my parents and we're very close but ever since I left home at 16 I have never had a single penny from them and have always supported myself. My DH is from a solidly middle class family (not rich, but parents own their own home and have given financial support at various times as needed). He tries but he will never understand how it is to just... not have that.

And now I feel like I need to listen to Common People by Pulp again 😅

You’d read this thread and think every single old person ends up in care!

My parents will leave a decent-sized estate (c 500k). This will be split equally between my brother, me, and my 3 children (third between them). My brother has been NC for the past decade but he will still inherit his share. They live well and are encouraged to travel lots and have as much fun as possible. Unless it's beyond my control, I fully intend to look after them in their old age rather than care home.

This is particularly irritating. 'Oh yes I have received x amount but I'd give it all up just to have my mum/dad/grandparents back!'. Trotted out so many times, on here and in RL. Of course most of us (who have healthy relationships with their relatives) would rather still have them, rather than money. But it's frankly insulting to imply that bereavement plus inheritance is somehow harder than bereavement with no inheritance. Or that it's a straight choice between having your relatives die and you receive some money, or having them live and you receive nothing. Many people get the worst of both worlds, their loved ones are dead AND there is no money to be received.

Normally, yes. But she is down to her last £5,000 because she had an investment that is now worthless, but the council insist on including it in her worth. We have shown them proof that it is now worth £0 and that other people who invested are now suing the FAs who sold it, but no. They still consider that she has £x000 invested somewhere, so she has no cash safety net