Inheritance discussion

[Petlover19]

My mother had a daughter before her marriage to my dad (I’m the only full blood sibling of the marriage). My half sister has put forward that she wants 50% of my parents assests. She didn’t have the best childhood. My folks want us to negotiate together what we want in their wills before they draw them up. Currently She has a much higher amount of capital than me. I feel awkward asking for a higher percentage of their assets. They have quite a lot of assets between them. What would you do?

Readers are confused whether your sister was adopted by your dad or another couple.

Do either of your parents have other children?

Your dad adopted her but didn’t bring her up?

If she's adopted she is an equal child of the marriage and the estate should go 50:50. If it's which of you want which keepsakes, bits of jewellery, pictures, furniture, etc, then negotiate away.

I would say to your parents that you don't feel it's at all appropriate for you or your sister to be involved in this decision and you would far rather they used their wealth to ensure that they are comfortable happy and healthy for as long as possible. Whether they divide their legacy between you equally, or decide it's rational to favour one over the other, or keave the whole lot to a donkey sanctuary, is entirely up to them. Asking you to be involved sounds too much like act one of King Lear.

My folks want us to negotiate together what we want in their wills before they draw them up

This is really not on

They should either decide, or discuss and then decide. Not push the problem onto you.

They aren't showing themselves to be great parenting, are they.

Agree with pp that your parents shouldn’t have let this happen.

if your SS was brought up in the same house as you as an equal sibling and your DF regards her as his own child and you regard her as a sister then split 50:50. If she was very much the step sister then you split your mums assets 50:50 and you get your dads?
where is her dad in all this?

Your parents should be the ones making decisions about their own wills, then it would be sensible to let you and your half-sister know what has been decided and why.

Was your half-sister adopted into another family? The adoption aspect is confusing.

Pass it back to your parents. It’s their money, their decision. It’s wrong to ask you.

All in the thread if you care to read it.

A will of testament is exactly that; what someone wants to happen to their assets when they die. It is ridiculous that your parents are saying it is up to you and your sister to decide. A will is their wishes, not yours. I assume they have done this because they themselves cannot agree on a fair split, but that is no reason to put it on to you both. I would suggest you tell them that you and your sister agree to honour their wishes, and it is their decision and their decision only. They also do not have to put the same allocations in their will, so your mum could put a 50/50 spilt and your dad could put something else. Afterall, they are unlikely to die at the same time, so if your dad dies first, your mum might change her will to 50/50 even if they mutually agree a different ratio.

Anything else your sister stands to inherrit is irrelevant, as is your current circumstances, as circumstances can change. It is important that your parents have wills, but it is also important that they prioritise enjoying their twilight years and consider their own needs if they become infirm (eg they should sell their home to afford better care for themselves).

I wish you could do a downvote for rude / stupid comments like this.

I think I’d say to your parents: “Good grief, I’m not going to negotiate the terms of your will. You must do whatever you think best.”