Author Topic: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.  (Read 1435140 times)

Imma

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1700 on: June 29, 2019, 08:22:29 AM »
@Alfred J Quack if you don't trust your siblings a professional might be a good option, there are a lot of bad professionals around but also a lot of good trustworthy ones. If you appoint relatives I'd always make sure I'd appoint two and who if possible don't have a financial interest in your son's inheritance. If you have trustworthy young-ish aunts or uncles that could also be an option. If you have trustworthy reliable friends you could also ask them to handle his affairs. You don't have to be a blood relative to care for someone. We don't have kids yet but I know we would pick a very reliable friend as a legal guardian over our unreliable siblings any day.

Of course in many cases siblings handle the affairs of their disabled siblings very well, but there's also the sad example I've seen in my extended family. A man with Down's syndrome was left a significant sum of money by his parents  (his fair share of the value of a farm that was sold). His siblings took care of his affairs and while they loved him, he lived a good life and was happy, they never spent anything on things they considered 'unnecessary' because they knew their brother's estate would eventually pass to their kids. They loved their own kids more than they loved their brother. The sad thing is that even if they had spoiled their brother quite a bit there'd still be a fortune left.

UnleashHell

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1701 on: June 30, 2019, 05:07:51 AM »


I've never understood this thinking. Just split it between your kids evenly and if one ends up "wasting" it all then that's on them. What do you care, you're dead! But disowning your own child in a will is just mean and spiteful for a parent to do.

what if your kids have disowned you, won't talk to you or let their kids talk to you?
what do you do when you find out that you are a great grandparent but from your own siblings instead of your kids?

SwordGuy

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1702 on: June 30, 2019, 08:34:01 AM »


I've never understood this thinking. Just split it between your kids evenly and if one ends up "wasting" it all then that's on them. What do you care, you're dead! But disowning your own child in a will is just mean and spiteful for a parent to do.

what if your kids have disowned you, won't talk to you or let their kids talk to you?
what do you do when you find out that you are a great grandparent but from your own siblings instead of your kids?

Well, I would argue that 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time one should look in the mirror and
reflect on what set of egregious actions one did to motivate one's kids to act that way.   Then give the kids the money and apologize in the will for whatever one did to them.

The remaining 0.000000000000000000000001% of the time one should give the grand kids their inheritance with a lawyer as an executor, to be paid out when they are 25, because it's not the grand kids fault their parents are jackasses.

That's my take on it.


AMandM

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1703 on: June 30, 2019, 02:17:07 PM »
A lot of these stories seem to center on people who were mean or greedy or stupid before any inheritance, and the legacy was just a bigger field for them to play on.  Has anyone seen a family where everyone got along well, and you wouldn't expect drama, but things changed when an inheritance was involved?

BeanCounter

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1704 on: June 30, 2019, 07:04:44 PM »


I've never understood this thinking. Just split it between your kids evenly and if one ends up "wasting" it all then that's on them. What do you care, you're dead! But disowning your own child in a will is just mean and spiteful for a parent to do.

what if your kids have disowned you, won't talk to you or let their kids talk to you?
what do you do when you find out that you are a great grandparent but from your own siblings instead of your kids?

Well, I would argue that 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time one should look in the mirror and
reflect on what set of egregious actions one did to motivate one's kids to act that way.   Then give the kids the money and apologize in the will for whatever one did to them.

The remaining 0.000000000000000000000001% of the time one should give the grand kids their inheritance with a lawyer as an executor, to be paid out when they are 25, because it's not the grand kids fault their parents are jackasses.

That's my take on it.

UnleashHell

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1705 on: July 01, 2019, 06:46:40 AM »


I've never understood this thinking. Just split it between your kids evenly and if one ends up "wasting" it all then that's on them. What do you care, you're dead! But disowning your own child in a will is just mean and spiteful for a parent to do.

what if your kids have disowned you, won't talk to you or let their kids talk to you?
what do you do when you find out that you are a great grandparent but from your own siblings instead of your kids?

Well, I would argue that 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time one should look in the mirror and
reflect on what set of egregious actions one did to motivate one's kids to act that way.   Then give the kids the money and apologize in the will for whatever one did to them.

The remaining 0.000000000000000000000001% of the time one should give the grand kids their inheritance with a lawyer as an executor, to be paid out when they are 25, because it's not the grand kids fault their parents are jackasses.

That's my take on it.

thanks for the sweeping generalizations. in this case its my sister who stopped talking to me 20 years ago. my only regret is that it wasn't sooner. my parents lasted another ten years before she cut them off as well. The egregious final action that my parents did - went on holiday at christmas to FLorida to see their other grandchilden and didn't buy xmas presents for the grandkids in England. who were well past 18 an didn't ever send thanks for presents they'd received or ever visit. Literally the first words from my sisters mount upon their return - "where are the presents".  She's a disgrace who deserves everything she gets. which will be nothing.

Captain FIRE

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1706 on: July 01, 2019, 07:45:23 AM »


I've never understood this thinking. Just split it between your kids evenly and if one ends up "wasting" it all then that's on them. What do you care, you're dead! But disowning your own child in a will is just mean and spiteful for a parent to do.

what if your kids have disowned you, won't talk to you or let their kids talk to you?
what do you do when you find out that you are a great grandparent but from your own siblings instead of your kids?

Well, I would argue that 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time one should look in the mirror and
reflect on what set of egregious actions one did to motivate one's kids to act that way.   Then give the kids the money and apologize in the will for whatever one did to them.

The remaining 0.000000000000000000000001% of the time one should give the grand kids their inheritance with a lawyer as an executor, to be paid out when they are 25, because it's not the grand kids fault their parents are jackasses.

That's my take on it.

thanks for the sweeping generalizations. in this case its my sister who stopped talking to me 20 years ago. my only regret is that it wasn't sooner. my parents lasted another ten years before she cut them off as well. The egregious final action that my parents did - went on holiday at christmas to FLorida to see their other grandchilden and didn't buy xmas presents for the grandkids in England. who were well past 18 an didn't ever send thanks for presents they'd received or ever visit. Literally the first words from my sisters mount upon their return - "where are the presents".  She's a disgrace who deserves everything she gets. which will be nothing.

Yeah, holy moly on the assumptions.  Sometimes there's a reason someone stopped speaking to someone else, sometimes it's irrational.  Sometimes it's the person who was cut off, sometimes it's the one who did the cutting out and sometimes it's both.  There's no 99.9% repeating here for why.

I just learned yesterday that my aunt died 4 days prior from cancer.  Had no idea she had cancer, because my uncle stopped speaking to my dad 17 years ago around my grandfather's funeral.  He's never really said why, though when pressed early on, he did go off on a tirade apparently about not liking my mom's Christmas letters recounting the year's activities.   Such an egregious offense!  My grandmother likes to pretend that things are fine between them, so she has no idea why he stopped (and my dad is reluctant to put his nephew in the middle by asking him about it).  Uncle lives near grandma and we don't, so we're trying to figure out how to ensure we'll actually be notified when grandma passes so we can make it for the funeral, other than calling every day and panicking upon no response which seems overkill.  (Parents are going to talk to her neighbor and delicately to nephew.  If anyone else has suggestions, please share.)

BabyShark

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1707 on: July 01, 2019, 07:47:24 AM »


I've never understood this thinking. Just split it between your kids evenly and if one ends up "wasting" it all then that's on them. What do you care, you're dead! But disowning your own child in a will is just mean and spiteful for a parent to do.

what if your kids have disowned you, won't talk to you or let their kids talk to you?
what do you do when you find out that you are a great grandparent but from your own siblings instead of your kids?

Well, I would argue that 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time one should look in the mirror and
reflect on what set of egregious actions one did to motivate one's kids to act that way.   Then give the kids the money and apologize in the will for whatever one did to them.

The remaining 0.000000000000000000000001% of the time one should give the grand kids their inheritance with a lawyer as an executor, to be paid out when they are 25, because it's not the grand kids fault their parents are jackasses.

That's my take on it.

thanks for the sweeping generalizations. in this case its my sister who stopped talking to me 20 years ago. my only regret is that it wasn't sooner. my parents lasted another ten years before she cut them off as well. The egregious final action that my parents did - went on holiday at christmas to FLorida to see their other grandchilden and didn't buy xmas presents for the grandkids in England. who were well past 18 an didn't ever send thanks for presents they'd received or ever visit. Literally the first words from my sisters mount upon their return - "where are the presents".  She's a disgrace who deserves everything she gets. which will be nothing.

Yeah, holy moly on the assumptions.  Sometimes there's a reason someone stopped speaking to someone else, sometimes it's irrational.  Sometimes it's the person who was cut off, sometimes it's the one who did the cutting out and sometimes it's both.  There's no 99.9% repeating here for why.

I just learned yesterday that my aunt died 4 days prior from cancer.  Had no idea she had cancer, because my uncle stopped speaking to my dad 17 years ago around my grandfather's funeral.  He's never really said why, though when pressed early on, he did go off on a tirade apparently about not liking my mom's Christmas letters recounting the year's activities.   Such an egregious offense!  My grandmother likes to pretend that things are fine between them, so she has no idea why he stopped (and my dad is reluctant to put his nephew in the middle by asking him about it).  Uncle lives near grandma and we don't, so we're trying to figure out how to ensure we'll actually be notified when grandma passes so we can make it for the funeral, other than calling every day and panicking upon no response which seems overkill.  (Parents are going to talk to her neighbor and delicately to nephew.  If anyone else has suggestions, please share.)

What about you reaching out to your cousin to keep connected? Keeps him from having to feel like he's in the middle of his parents and yours.

Captain FIRE

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1708 on: July 01, 2019, 08:01:00 AM »
What about you reaching out to your cousin to keep connected? Keeps him from having to feel like he's in the middle of his parents and yours.

Yeah I plan to reach out to him and should really do a better job staying in contact.  That said, we're not close - he's older than me so we never bonded growing up and we did not ever live near each other.  I was a bit closer to his younger brother, who passed away about 10 years ago.  My dad's kept in much better contact with my cousin over the years than I have.  (My dad tries to see my cousin every time he visits my grandma or is in his area, it's just that he tries really hard not to bring up his brother to make my cousin feel caught in the middle.) 

And, it's very clear my uncle isn't speaking to my dad, but the rest of the family is implicated as well.  (He's my godfather, but did not attend my wedding (or my brother's).) 

Sibley

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1709 on: July 01, 2019, 08:23:58 AM »
Re the no contact situations - From the outside, you've really got no way to tell for sure what the issue is. It is quite interesting however that there's a group of situations that basically come down to someone is toxic/abusive/manipulative/generally nasty, so when the people around them eventually get tired of the abuse and cut them off, they say they have no idea why. Mental illness or personality disorders can be at play as well.

There's a website that has a lot of information about estranged parents, and is often recommended to people who are the victims in these types of situations. It's quite interesting.
http://www.issendai.com/index.htm

Out of the fog is also helpful for some people in or around toxic people.
https://outofthefog.website/

It's also important to note that people who have generally loving, non-abusive families and social circles frequently are unable (at least without a lot of thought) to understand that Sally didn't cut off her mother for no reason, and maybe Sally's mother is actually really abusive, even if they've never seen the behavior themselves. These bystanders can inadvertently cause a lot of problems, and can in turn be cut off by Sally in order to protect herself.

It can also explain why you'll see very interesting internet threads - as we've got going here. UnLeashHell appears to have experience with this type of dysfunction, or something similar, and responded based on that experience. Other posters have pushed back because of the broad and seemingly black and white generalization.

Bottom line - families come in every variety, good and bad. If you're dealing with one of the bad ones, maybe some of this info will. If you're not, a bit of compassion for those who are or may be isn't a bad thing.

SwordGuy

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1710 on: July 01, 2019, 08:30:25 AM »


I've never understood this thinking. Just split it between your kids evenly and if one ends up "wasting" it all then that's on them. What do you care, you're dead! But disowning your own child in a will is just mean and spiteful for a parent to do.

what if your kids have disowned you, won't talk to you or let their kids talk to you?
what do you do when you find out that you are a great grandparent but from your own siblings instead of your kids?

Well, I would argue that 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time one should look in the mirror and
reflect on what set of egregious actions one did to motivate one's kids to act that way.   Then give the kids the money and apologize in the will for whatever one did to them.

The remaining 0.000000000000000000000001% of the time one should give the grand kids their inheritance with a lawyer as an executor, to be paid out when they are 25, because it's not the grand kids fault their parents are jackasses.

That's my take on it.

thanks for the sweeping generalizations. in this case its my sister who stopped talking to me 20 years ago. my only regret is that it wasn't sooner. my parents lasted another ten years before she cut them off as well. The egregious final action that my parents did - went on holiday at christmas to FLorida to see their other grandchilden and didn't buy xmas presents for the grandkids in England. who were well past 18 an didn't ever send thanks for presents they'd received or ever visit. Literally the first words from my sisters mount upon their return - "where are the presents".  She's a disgrace who deserves everything she gets. which will be nothing.
And that would be the 0.000000000000000000000001% case. 

DadJokes

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1711 on: July 01, 2019, 08:48:14 AM »
People don't act rationally. You can raise two children the exact same way in the exact same household under the exact same circumstances, and they will most likely grow up to be very different people. When a child goes down the wrong path, parents are going to "look in the mirror" and blame themselves, even if they did their jobs as parents correctly.

It is perfectly understandable to not leave equal shares to children if you believe that leaving money to someone will do them more harm than good.

@SwordGuy do you have children?

BeanCounter

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1712 on: July 01, 2019, 08:58:47 AM »
Re the no contact situations - From the outside, you've really got no way to tell for sure what the issue is. It is quite interesting however that there's a group of situations that basically come down to someone is toxic/abusive/manipulative/generally nasty, so when the people around them eventually get tired of the abuse and cut them off, they say they have no idea why. Mental illness or personality disorders can be at play as well.

There's a website that has a lot of information about estranged parents, and is often recommended to people who are the victims in these types of situations. It's quite interesting.
http://www.issendai.com/index.htm

Out of the fog is also helpful for some people in or around toxic people.
https://outofthefog.website/

It's also important to note that people who have generally loving, non-abusive families and social circles frequently are unable (at least without a lot of thought) to understand that Sally didn't cut off her mother for no reason, and maybe Sally's mother is actually really abusive, even if they've never seen the behavior themselves. These bystanders can inadvertently cause a lot of problems, and can in turn be cut off by Sally in order to protect herself.

It can also explain why you'll see very interesting internet threads - as we've got going here. UnLeashHell appears to have experience with this type of dysfunction, or something similar, and responded based on that experience. Other posters have pushed back because of the broad and seemingly black and white generalization.

Bottom line - families come in every variety, good and bad. If you're dealing with one of the bad ones, maybe some of this info will. If you're not, a bit of compassion for those who are or may be isn't a bad thing.
+1
We are no contact with my mother in law. She is diagnosed boarder line PD, bi-polar and a touch of narcissism. If you know people like that, they just take, take, take. When their own children go against their requests they shame, belittle, demean. It's a no win.
So I have a very real view of what this kind of dysfunction looks like. But I still feel that cutting someone out of a will is wrong. If one of my children had these types of problems and we were in a dysfunctional relationship, yes I would go no contact but I would not cut them out of the will. When I am dead I want to do everything I can to make those that are still living have some sense of love and acceptance. It's only money, and I won't need it after I'm gone. And cutting out one child will just ensure that there will never be a good relationship between them and their sibs.
I would just explain to my other children that I appreciate all the "extra" they have given us, and to do what they need to do to care and protect themselves from their sibling. And I would tell them that even though they probably deserve more, we feel that inheritance is a birth right and we are splitting evenly no matter what. If I thought one child couldn't be trusted with money I would put it in the trust and just give them the annual income.

SwordGuy

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1713 on: July 01, 2019, 09:00:40 AM »
People don't act rationally. You can raise two children the exact same way in the exact same household under the exact same circumstances, and they will most likely grow up to be very different people. When a child goes down the wrong path, parents are going to "look in the mirror" and blame themselves, even if they did their jobs as parents correctly.

It is perfectly understandable to not leave equal shares to children if you believe that leaving money to someone will do them more harm than good.

@SwordGuy do you have children?

I agree with everything you just said.


My point in the earlier post was that it is very rare for children to outright refuse to deal with their parents unless the parents have really acted up.   Lots of mooches.  Lots of dysfunctional family dynamics.  Lots of not going the extra mile to visit parents who are a nuisance.   But for a child to completely sever parental ties?  I don't think that's very common indeed when there's no good reason.   I've heard of many cases where children have done so because their parents are thieves, or addicts, or violent, or vicious, or controlling.   All perfectly good reasons.    Plenty of cases where the kid doesn't take any action to maintain contact but accepts parental contact.   But refusing to have contact with one's parents for no good reason?   That's a very drastic step with no rational benefit.   So, sure, crazy people might do it, but crazy people often need to mooch because they can't get other things in their life working either.

I'm not saying it happens.  I'm not disputing anyone's assertion that it happened in their family.   I'm just saying I think it's extremely rare.

And yes, I have children.   I have a wife with siblings.  3 in her family are great, 1 is a selfish, self-entitled ass -- who mooches off her parents.   I have lots of friends with siblings.    I watch and observe.  I listen and I read about other's stories.   

So, I'll readily admit that's all my opinion based on anecdotal evidence.   Sorry if the percentages to the ludicrous number of digits I listed didn't give that away. :)

Villanelle

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1714 on: July 01, 2019, 10:17:23 AM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity? 

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1715 on: July 01, 2019, 10:39:50 AM »
People don't act rationally. You can raise two children the exact same way in the exact same household under the exact same circumstances, and they will most likely grow up to be very different people. When a child goes down the wrong path, parents are going to "look in the mirror" and blame themselves, even if they did their jobs as parents correctly.

It is perfectly understandable to not leave equal shares to children if you believe that leaving money to someone will do them more harm than good.

@SwordGuy do you have children?

I agree with everything you just said.


My point in the earlier post was that it is very rare for children to outright refuse to deal with their parents unless the parents have really acted up.   Lots of mooches.  Lots of dysfunctional family dynamics.  Lots of not going the extra mile to visit parents who are a nuisance.   But for a child to completely sever parental ties?  I don't think that's very common indeed when there's no good reason.   I've heard of many cases where children have done so because their parents are thieves, or addicts, or violent, or vicious, or controlling.   All perfectly good reasons.    Plenty of cases where the kid doesn't take any action to maintain contact but accepts parental contact.   But refusing to have contact with one's parents for no good reason?   That's a very drastic step with no rational benefit.   So, sure, crazy people might do it, but crazy people often need to mooch because they can't get other things in their life working either.

I'm not saying it happens.  I'm not disputing anyone's assertion that it happened in their family.   I'm just saying I think it's extremely rare.

And yes, I have children.   I have a wife with siblings.  3 in her family are great, 1 is a selfish, self-entitled ass -- who mooches off her parents.   I have lots of friends with siblings.    I watch and observe.  I listen and I read about other's stories.   

So, I'll readily admit that's all my opinion based on anecdotal evidence.   Sorry if the percentages to the ludicrous number of digits I listed didn't give that away. :)

The cutting-off behavior is extremely common in families where there's addiction or abuse. In those families, people who behave badly are always entitled to the relationship and/or resources they want from the people they mistreat, no matter what. If you want to participate in family activities, you're required to (a) tolerate abuse, (b) not talk about it, and (c) help protect the person who's continuing to dish it out. Only the problem person's experience matters, and the rest of the family is so used to tiptoeing around the most dramatic and destructive individual that if someone on the receiving end of bad behavior dares to speak up or to protect himself/herself, that person is punished by being excluded from the family.

The other very common behavior is for the person who wants to live an abuse-free life to be the one to build some distance into the relationship. If the rest of the family tries to pressure the escapee to kowtow and to submit to more abuse, it's generally because every single person applying the pressure is in full flying monkey mode. Many of them like to feel like they are accomplishing something extremely good by reeling the escaped punching bag back in so that the toxic or abusive person can have another go. Others are tired of wiping the butt of whoever is screwing up, and realize that if they can bulldoze over the escapee's boundaries they can substitute the human escapee to be used as human toilet paper.

A third very common behavior is for someone to go into a snit and cut off friends or family members as a manipulation tool: "if you don't do this for me, or if you don't give me that, then you'll never see me again." My daughter was always cutting off friends or relatives to punish them for asserting their own boundaries. When she did it to me at age 18, I happily gave her all of her belongings and helped her move out, but her resolve to have nothing to do with me evaporated once she wanted money. There are lots of people who behave this way: when they well runs dry and they can't take anything more from you, or if you need something from them or are politely holding them accountable for their behavior, they find a reason to end contact until there's something else they want.

From the outside looking in, it can be extremely hard to tell whether the person ending the contact is the abusive or manipulative person. My general rule is to look at the person doing the cutting off. Do they have *any* old friends, family members, or community members with whom they are consistently in contact? If the answer is no, that person is likely to be the problem. Likewise, are they basically functioning or are they dependent on others? If they're dependent on others and are not consistently self-supporting, the isolated person has probably burned through a lot of other supporters and do-gooders before they got to you. There are bound to be mutual friends and acquaintances; asking around to see whether a person whose opinion and character you trust has been burned by that individual is often a good way to tell whether you should invite the exiled individual into your life.

TVRodriguez

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1716 on: July 01, 2019, 10:56:12 AM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity?

Not in my state under a Will or Trust.  Beneficiaries have the right to receive a copy of the testamentary document and, if it's a Will being probated, they have the right to receive an Inventory of the estate.  If it's a trust, they have the right to an accounting, which will show all distributions and disbursements.

There are other ways to achieve this privacy you mention using non-probate or non-trust assets.  Make beneficiary designations on IRAs, bank accounts, life insurance, etc.  Separate beneficiaries on separate accounts usually don't have access to information on other accounts where they are not beneficiaries.

kanga1622

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1717 on: July 01, 2019, 11:01:34 AM »
A lot of these stories seem to center on people who were mean or greedy or stupid before any inheritance, and the legacy was just a bigger field for them to play on.  Has anyone seen a family where everyone got along well, and you wouldn't expect drama, but things changed when an inheritance was involved?

My dad's family was a bit that way. He had one brother that was a bit greedy but he took it to the extreme after his parents passed. And then another brother's wife started to stir things up. It fragmented the siblings a bit but they were able to get over it and move on.

My siblings and I were VERY well organized and knew it was to be an even split. We were very congenial during all the meetings, lawyer visits, and text/email traffic on decisions. We have zero arguments about anything related to that process and know that our relationship is more important than any amount of money. We met the day after our dad's funeral to discuss our feelings. I said quite plainly that the only thing that mattered to me with the process is that we kept our relationship together. Everyone else agreed right away and that was forefront in our minds as we discussed anything.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1718 on: July 01, 2019, 11:10:57 AM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity?
I don't know about the legal side of things, but secrecy is going to be hard to enforce, especially when A and B are individuals who likely have some connection to each other.  I suppose you could say "person A gets $25k and the remainder goes to Charity X," with instructions not to reveal what that remainder is, but I don't know that there's a way to make sure the executor doesn't reveal the amount, or to make sure Person A can't somehow get the info from the charity.

My siblings and I were VERY well organized and knew it was to be an even split. We were very congenial during all the meetings, lawyer visits, and text/email traffic on decisions. We have zero arguments about anything related to that process and know that our relationship is more important than any amount of money. We met the day after our dad's funeral to discuss our feelings. I said quite plainly that the only thing that mattered to me with the process is that we kept our relationship together. Everyone else agreed right away and that was forefront in our minds as we discussed anything.
That's fantastic that your family was able to handle it all so maturely.  I hope the same happens in my family when the time comes. 

Dicey

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1719 on: July 01, 2019, 11:21:24 AM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity?
Yes. I had a friend who loaned me money, at his suggestion, when I was buying a house. He liked to make small loans to friends because he enjoyed having a steady stream of checks rolling in each month*. I'd been making payments as scheduled when he died**, about five years later. In his will, it just said he forgave any money he had loaned to me. Our mutual friend (and current flip partner, if anyone's following that adventure) was absolutely dying to know the value of his "gift", but I never told. After five years of payments, there wasn't much balance left, but I appreciated the clean slate. No way will I ever share the details with her. I think she expected more from his estate and imagines I sucked away some huge amount of cash. Nope.

*My friend wasn't stupid. The only condition of the loan was that I buy cheap term life insurance for 3x the loan amount, naming him as the beneficiary, until it was paid off. I gladly paid it until he passed away. Smart man. BTW, he knew how hard I was working to earn the money for the DP. He came to me with the offer; I was not seeking loans from anyone. I worked on commission, and he was my movie/theater buddy. About the third time I said no to a movie because I was working, he hatched this scheme. I knew he did it for others, some of whom had gone belly up and stiffed him. There was zero chance of that happening with me, so I said yes.

Gosh, I never realized this little tale might qualify as an inheritance drama story. Maybe to someone else, but not to me.

**My friend was considerably older, so his death was not unexpected. I worked every day, then spent the night on his tiny sofa every night for the last ten days of his life in case he needed anything during the night. Got up, went home, showered, went to work. I was on my way to his house after work when I got the call from our mutual friend that he had just died. I went straight there to say my goodbyes. Very surreal to spend time with the body of a loved one immediately after they've passed. Oh, I still miss him so! RIP, Waynn, with two N's and no E.

TVRodriguez

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1720 on: July 01, 2019, 12:07:51 PM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity?
Yes. I had a friend who loaned me money, at his suggestion, when I was buying a house. He liked to make small loans to friends because he enjoyed having a steady stream of checks rolling in each month*. I'd been making payments as scheduled when he died**, about five years later. In his will, it just said he forgave any money he had loaned to me. Our mutual friend (and current flip partner, if anyone's following that adventure) was absolutely dying to know the value of his "gift", but I never told. After five years of payments, there wasn't much balance left, but I appreciated the clean slate. No way will I ever share the details with her. I think she expected more from his estate and imagines I sucked away some huge amount of cash. Nope.

*My friend wasn't stupid. The only condition of the loan was that I buy cheap term life insurance for 3x the loan amount, naming him as the beneficiary, until it was paid off. I gladly paid it until he passed away. Smart man. BTW, he knew how hard I was working to earn the money for the DP. He came to me with the offer; I was not seeking loans from anyone. I worked on commission, and he was my movie/theater buddy. About the third time I said no to a movie because I was working, he hatched this scheme. I knew he did it for others, some of whom had gone belly up and stiffed him. There was zero chance of that happening with me, so I said yes.

Gosh, I never realized this little tale might qualify as an inheritance drama story. Maybe to someone else, but not to me.

**My friend was considerably older, so his death was not unexpected. I worked every day, then spent the night on his tiny sofa every night for the last ten days of his life in case he needed anything during the night. Got up, went home, showered, went to work. I was on my way to his house after work when I got the call from our mutual friend that he had just died. I went straight there to say my goodbyes. Very surreal to spend time with the body of a loved one immediately after they've passed. Oh, I still miss him so! RIP, Waynn, with two N's and no E.

Where I practice, that loan/note would be an asset of the estate and would get listed on the Inventory, which is to be provided to every beneficiary under the Will (and any other interested party of the estate, including known creditors).

But that's a sweet story and a nice friendship you had.

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1721 on: July 01, 2019, 12:09:21 PM »
It's also important to note that people who have generally loving, non-abusive families and social circles frequently are unable (at least without a lot of thought) to understand that Sally didn't cut off her mother for no reason, and maybe Sally's mother is actually really abusive, even if they've never seen the behavior themselves.
From the outside looking in, it can be extremely hard to tell whether the person ending the contact is the abusive or manipulative person. My general rule is to look at the person doing the cutting off. Do they have *any* old friends, family members, or community members with whom they are consistently in contact? If the answer is no, that person is likely to be the problem. Likewise, are they basically functioning or are they dependent on others? If they're dependent on others and are not consistently self-supporting, the isolated person has probably burned through a lot of other supporters and do-gooders before they got to you. There are bound to be mutual friends and acquaintances; asking around to see whether a person whose opinion and character you trust has been burned by that individual is often a good way to tell whether you should invite the exiled individual into your life.

I have appreciated your (almost certainly hard-earned) insight, @Sibley and @TheGrimSqueaker .

I’m estranged from my sibling and have been estranged from my parents in the past (we have a guarded relationship now).  My parents see the estrangement of their children as a failure that reflects badly on them, and so really want to throw a bandaid on it (for appearances’ sake and to check that off their list).

About a year ago they approached me under the guise of “discussing their end-of-life arrangements”, but it was really an attempt to try to bribe me (with an eventual inheritance) into putting a bandaid onto that estrangement.  When I told them my children and I neither needed nor expected any inheritance they were furious.  (In hindsight I should have outright requested that nothing be left to us.  I guess I will should they ever bring this up again.) This episode pushed me to accept that in spite of all the excuses I make for them, my parents really do exhibit manipulative and controlling behaviour towards me (I already grasped that they treated me much more like a possession or an employee than like a person).  I was also really sad to realize they thought that I could be bought.  (I initiated those estrangements when I was young and alone and had not much safety margin to support myself.  If I wasn’t going to be manipulated in exchange for money then, why would I be now when I am older and have saved my own money and have my own family?)

Even just recounting that little episode feels gross.  🤮

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1722 on: July 01, 2019, 06:46:16 PM »

The cutting-off behavior is extremely common in families where there's addiction or abuse. In those families, people who behave badly are always entitled to the relationship and/or resources they want from the people they mistreat, no matter what. If you want to participate in family activities, you're required to (a) tolerate abuse, (b) not talk about it, and (c) help protect the person who's continuing to dish it out. Only the problem person's experience matters, and the rest of the family is so used to tiptoeing around the most dramatic and destructive individual that if someone on the receiving end of bad behavior dares to speak up or to protect himself/herself, that person is punished by being excluded from the family.

The other very common behavior is for the person who wants to live an abuse-free life to be the one to build some distance into the relationship. If the rest of the family tries to pressure the escapee to kowtow and to submit to more abuse, it's generally because every single person applying the pressure is in full flying monkey mode. Many of them like to feel like they are accomplishing something extremely good by reeling the escaped punching bag back in so that the toxic or abusive person can have another go. Others are tired of wiping the butt of whoever is screwing up, and realize that if they can bulldoze over the escapee's boundaries they can substitute the human escapee to be used as human toilet paper.

A third very common behavior is for someone to go into a snit and cut off friends or family members as a manipulation tool: "if you don't do this for me, or if you don't give me that, then you'll never see me again." My daughter was always cutting off friends or relatives to punish them for asserting their own boundaries. When she did it to me at age 18, I happily gave her all of her belongings and helped her move out, but her resolve to have nothing to do with me evaporated once she wanted money. There are lots of people who behave this way: when they well runs dry and they can't take anything more from you, or if you need something from them or are politely holding them accountable for their behavior, they find a reason to end contact until there's something else they want.

From the outside looking in, it can be extremely hard to tell whether the person ending the contact is the abusive or manipulative person. My general rule is to look at the person doing the cutting off. Do they have *any* old friends, family members, or community members with whom they are consistently in contact? If the answer is no, that person is likely to be the problem. Likewise, are they basically functioning or are they dependent on others? If they're dependent on others and are not consistently self-supporting, the isolated person has probably burned through a lot of other supporters and do-gooders before they got to you. There are bound to be mutual friends and acquaintances; asking around to see whether a person whose opinion and character you trust has been burned by that individual is often a good way to tell whether you should invite the exiled individual into your life.

You clearly know your stuff.  That is exactly my experience.  (1) My father is an alcoholic. (2) Having finally decided to let the distance increase, my mother is working overtime to defend and minimize my concerns.  (3) My father cut off all contact with his parents and brother when I was 12, separating me from family members that I loved.  (4) Father has no friends except some people he has known for less than two years.  Every friend he had that I knew eventually did or said something that pissed him off to the point of cutting them out.

My only brother has also distanced himself.  Addiction takes a terrible toll on families.

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1723 on: July 01, 2019, 07:37:54 PM »
Just to shorten this discussion, everyone so far is in agreement that reasonable people cut off contact with family members who are awful in some manner.   This is not in dispute and needs no defending.

The only item in dispute that I'm aware of is how often children cut off contact from their parents when the parents have done NOTHING wrong.  (And I'm not counting flouncing off and then conveniently (and quickly) forgetting the cut off contact, I'm only counting a permanent cut of all ties.)   I maintain that's extremely rare.



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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1724 on: July 01, 2019, 09:18:26 PM »
...
The only item in dispute that I'm aware of is how often children cut off contact from their parents when the parents have done NOTHING wrong.  (And I'm not counting flouncing off and then conveniently (and quickly) forgetting the cut off contact, I'm only counting a permanent cut of all ties.)   I maintain that's extremely rare.

You may be right about causeless cutoff.  Cutting off for cause, though; I thought it also rare until I was a kind of ombudsman/enforcer at a large subsidized housing project - tax credits for high-income investors.  Many residents - over half?  I think probably, but I'll stick with "many" - had no contact with their offspring, hadn't for years, and as you got to know them, you understood, and cast your silent but sincere vote with the offspring.  As parents they had taken tiny humans who depended on them and were programmed to look up to them and love them, and through many years of unremitting vile behavior, made those who "ought" to have loved them curdle irretrievably.  I had to talk to a number of the families of our residents, ascertaining if they could or would provide any support, and the answer was "no" in every case but one.  It varied from "Shee-it.  That mothafucka yo problem now," to "I believe I have discharged any duty I may once have had toward her.  Except on the event of her death, please do not contact me about her ever again, Mr. Fredbear."  But other than sometimes coming by to pick up their stuff when we'd evicted and piled it on the curb, the response I got condensed to, "We his family will not constitute a safety net for him; as a representative of the taxpayers, you get to." 
« Last Edit: July 01, 2019, 09:32:44 PM by fredbear »

Dicey

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1725 on: July 02, 2019, 01:21:36 AM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity?
Yes. I had a friend who loaned me money, at his suggestion, when I was buying a house. He liked to make small loans to friends because he enjoyed having a steady stream of checks rolling in each month*. I'd been making payments as scheduled when he died**, about five years later. In his will, it just said he forgave any money he had loaned to me. Our mutual friend (and current flip partner, if anyone's following that adventure) was absolutely dying to know the value of his "gift", but I never told. After five years of payments, there wasn't much balance left, but I appreciated the clean slate. No way will I ever share the details with her. I think she expected more from his estate and imagines I sucked away some huge amount of cash. Nope.

*My friend wasn't stupid. The only condition of the loan was that I buy cheap term life insurance for 3x the loan amount, naming him as the beneficiary, until it was paid off. I gladly paid it until he passed away. Smart man. BTW, he knew how hard I was working to earn the money for the DP. He came to me with the offer; I was not seeking loans from anyone. I worked on commission, and he was my movie/theater buddy. About the third time I said no to a movie because I was working, he hatched this scheme. I knew he did it for others, some of whom had gone belly up and stiffed him. There was zero chance of that happening with me, so I said yes.

Gosh, I never realized this little tale might qualify as an inheritance drama story. Maybe to someone else, but not to me.

**My friend was considerably older, so his death was not unexpected. I worked every day, then spent the night on his tiny sofa every night for the last ten days of his life in case he needed anything during the night. Got up, went home, showered, went to work. I was on my way to his house after work when I got the call from our mutual friend that he had just died. I went straight there to say my goodbyes. Very surreal to spend time with the body of a loved one immediately after they've passed. Oh, I still miss him so! RIP, Waynn, with two N's and no E.

Where I practice, that loan/note would be an asset of the estate and would get listed on the Inventory, which is to be provided to every beneficiary under the Will (and any other interested party of the estate, including known creditors).

But that's a sweet story and a nice friendship you had.
Uh, inventory? What inventory?

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1726 on: July 02, 2019, 06:11:03 AM »
It's also important to note that people who have generally loving, non-abusive families and social circles frequently are unable (at least without a lot of thought) to understand that Sally didn't cut off her mother for no reason, and maybe Sally's mother is actually really abusive, even if they've never seen the behavior themselves.
From the outside looking in, it can be extremely hard to tell whether the person ending the contact is the abusive or manipulative person. My general rule is to look at the person doing the cutting off. Do they have *any* old friends, family members, or community members with whom they are consistently in contact? If the answer is no, that person is likely to be the problem. Likewise, are they basically functioning or are they dependent on others? If they're dependent on others and are not consistently self-supporting, the isolated person has probably burned through a lot of other supporters and do-gooders before they got to you. There are bound to be mutual friends and acquaintances; asking around to see whether a person whose opinion and character you trust has been burned by that individual is often a good way to tell whether you should invite the exiled individual into your life.

I have appreciated your (almost certainly hard-earned) insight, @Sibley and @TheGrimSqueaker .

I’m estranged from my sibling and have been estranged from my parents in the past (we have a guarded relationship now).  My parents see the estrangement of their children as a failure that reflects badly on them, and so really want to throw a bandaid on it (for appearances’ sake and to check that off their list).

About a year ago they approached me under the guise of “discussing their end-of-life arrangements”, but it was really an attempt to try to bribe me (with an eventual inheritance) into putting a bandaid onto that estrangement.  When I told them my children and I neither needed nor expected any inheritance they were furious.  (In hindsight I should have outright requested that nothing be left to us.  I guess I will should they ever bring this up again.) This episode pushed me to accept that in spite of all the excuses I make for them, my parents really do exhibit manipulative and controlling behaviour towards me (I already grasped that they treated me much more like a possession or an employee than like a person).  I was also really sad to realize they thought that I could be bought.  (I initiated those estrangements when I was young and alone and had not much safety margin to support myself.  If I wasn’t going to be manipulated in exchange for money then, why would I be now when I am older and have saved my own money and have my own family?)

Even just recounting that little episode feels gross.  🤮

Further to the estrangement of my sister. over many years she discounted any help from myself or my parents and very rarely visited or even initiated phone calls. She got very close to my Grandmother who was exceptional at manipulating people with the threat of "the will". Grandmother would make demands and threaten to cut people out of the will if such demands weren't met. Both my parents and myself refused to yield to such demands and we became "bad people" because we wouldn't bend to her will. We got cut out of the will. This is the will of a woman who had 2 husbands die on her and both of them were well insured. It would be an expensive mistake to be cut out of the will.
Turns out that my sister (and the 2 aunts on that side) did everything they could to remain in the will - to the point of excluding us from family gatherings because we'd upset grandma (IE we didn't drive a couple of hours at the drop of a hat to do anything for her). When she finally died we were indeed cut out of the will. However she'd mislead everyone all along. Most of the money was gone. there was only a few thousand left of all the insurance and house sales. And a 20 year old car plus some tools.
Our reaction was basically to shrug - we didn't compromise our principles to chase money from a crazy old lady. The rest of the family - especially my sister - was infuriated - it'd all been for nothing. That turned her even more bitter and lead to cutting all of us off eventually. Of the 3 sisters on that side one is my mother, the other 2 have a total of 3 kids and no grandchildren. My sister is still lining up to end up as the only living recipient of all of that property.
My parents don't care or need it-  they are just fine financially. And I'm about 2 years from quitting work so I'm ok.
My sister - still waiting and seething as far as I know. Don't care. Things were said and done that can't be reversed. I was near where she lived a couple of weeks ago - luckily I didn't bump into her or her husband (who I don't have an issue with).
Its the nieces I feel sorry for - they have been denied a grandmother and an uncle and a side of the family that I believe would have been good to know - but I can't do anything about that - yet.

AMandM

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1727 on: July 02, 2019, 07:24:11 AM »
My siblings and I were VERY well organized and knew it was to be an even split. We were very congenial during all the meetings, lawyer visits, and text/email traffic on decisions. We have zero arguments about anything related to that process and know that our relationship is more important than any amount of money. We met the day after our dad's funeral to discuss our feelings. I said quite plainly that the only thing that mattered to me with the process is that we kept our relationship together. Everyone else agreed right away and that was forefront in our minds as we discussed anything.

I had a friend who loaned me money, at his suggestion, when I was buying a house. He liked to make small loans to friends because he enjoyed having a steady stream of checks rolling in each month*. I'd been making payments as scheduled when he died**, about five years later. In his will, it just said he forgave any money he had loaned to me.
[...]
**My friend was considerably older, so his death was not unexpected. I worked every day, then spent the night on his tiny sofa every night for the last ten days of his life in case he needed anything during the night. Got up, went home, showered, went to work. I was on my way to his house after work when I got the call from our mutual friend that he had just died. I went straight there to say my goodbyes. Very surreal to spend time with the body of a loved one immediately after they've passed. Oh, I still miss him so! RIP, Waynn, with two N's and no E.

Dicey and kanga, it is so heartening to read these stories in the midst of all the other miserable ones. Thank you both! Everyone else, I send you my sympathy!

I am glad that my family is like kanga's. My grandmother's estate was settled with no animosity, even though she died intestate. My mother left everything to my father. My father says his will leaves everything to me and my sisters in equal shares and I anticipate no problems.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1728 on: July 02, 2019, 07:57:32 AM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity?
*My friend wasn't stupid. The only condition of the loan was that I buy cheap term life insurance for 3x the loan amount, naming him as the beneficiary, until it was paid off. I gladly paid it until he passed away. Smart man. BTW, he knew how hard I was working to earn the money for the DP. He came to me with the offer; I was not seeking loans from anyone. I worked on commission, and he was my movie/theater buddy. About the third time I said no to a movie because I was working, he hatched this scheme. I knew he did it for others, some of whom had gone belly up and stiffed him. There was zero chance of that happening with me, so I said yes.
I suspect your wise and generous friend also recognized that you were wise with your limited money, and therefore a lower risk of defaulting.

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1729 on: July 02, 2019, 08:26:53 AM »
Just to shorten this discussion, everyone so far is in agreement that reasonable people cut off contact with family members who are awful in some manner.   This is not in dispute and needs no defending.

The only item in dispute that I'm aware of is how often children cut off contact from their parents when the parents have done NOTHING wrong.  (And I'm not counting flouncing off and then conveniently (and quickly) forgetting the cut off contact, I'm only counting a permanent cut of all ties.)   I maintain that's extremely rare.

Mental illness, personality disorders, and general shittyi-ness goes both ways. There absolutely are instances where the adult child has cut off parents who are generally healthy/normal. The problem is that it's really hard to figure out without knowing a lot of background, which is which.

Even the asking other people as Grimm suggests can fail (though it absolutely helps). There are people who are SO GOOD at codeswitching that they can be horrible monsters and yet even close friends and family are horrified to learn about it.

Just because an individual is an abuser to one person doesn't mean they are to all, and it doesn't mean that they're always an abuser. People are complicated. I regularly reassure victims of this kind of abuse that the good doesn't cancel out the bad, the bad doesn't cancel out the good, and it's ok to have those mixed emotions.

TVRodriguez

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1730 on: July 02, 2019, 11:25:35 AM »

Where I practice, that loan/note would be an asset of the estate and would get listed on the Inventory, which is to be provided to every beneficiary under the Will (and any other interested party of the estate, including known creditors).

But that's a sweet story and a nice friendship you had.
Uh, inventory? What inventory?

Here, the Inventory of the decedent's assets is a pleading that must be filed with the probate court.  It's literally a list of items owned by the decedent in his own name, whether bank accounts, investment accounts, real estate, cash, tangible personal property, etc., that don't have either a joint owner with right of survivorship or a beneficiary (pay-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiary).

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1731 on: July 02, 2019, 04:55:03 PM »
Probably a question for a lawyer, but I'm trying to sort something out before I bring it up with DH and then, if we decide to go that direction, a lawyer.

Is there a way to set up a will so that people who inherit don't know what others are getting?  (Assuming those people are not the executor.). IOW, could we leave $25,000 to person A, and not give him access to the information that person B got $50,000?  Or not give him access to the fact that the entire state was $1m and 75% was left to charity?
I don't know about the legal side of things, but secrecy is going to be hard to enforce, especially when A and B are individuals who likely have some connection to each other.  I suppose you could say "person A gets $25k and the remainder goes to Charity X," with instructions not to reveal what that remainder is, but I don't know that there's a way to make sure the executor doesn't reveal the amount, or to make sure Person A can't somehow get the info from the charity.

My siblings and I were VERY well organized and knew it was to be an even split. We were very congenial during all the meetings, lawyer visits, and text/email traffic on decisions. We have zero arguments about anything related to that process and know that our relationship is more important than any amount of money. We met the day after our dad's funeral to discuss our feelings. I said quite plainly that the only thing that mattered to me with the process is that we kept our relationship together. Everyone else agreed right away and that was forefront in our minds as we discussed anything.
That's fantastic that your family was able to handle it all so maturely.  I hope the same happens in my family when the time comes.

This would be a case where person A probably wouldn't want person B to know how much A received either.  Imagine you leave $50k to one cousin-A (for example) and $25k to another cousin-B, perhaps in part because cousin B is greedy, hasn't had a meaningful relationship with you, etc.  You'd prefer to avoid the drama that you suspect would come with B finding out he's been "cheated".  And A wouldn't want B to know either, lest B give A a hard time.  It would also make B more likely to challenge the will. 
And if A and B are from different nuclear families, A would have little relationship with B.

So A would have no reason to spill the beans to B, and everyone, including B, would be happier not knowing s/he got less.  But it sounds like that's not possible. 

Dicey

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1732 on: July 02, 2019, 06:34:16 PM »

Where I practice, that loan/note would be an asset of the estate and would get listed on the Inventory, which is to be provided to every beneficiary under the Will (and any other interested party of the estate, including known creditors).

But that's a sweet story and a nice friendship you had.
Uh, inventory? What inventory?

Here, the Inventory of the decedent's assets is a pleading that must be filed with the probate court.  It's literally a list of items owned by the decedent in his own name, whether bank accounts, investment accounts, real estate, cash, tangible personal property, etc., that don't have either a joint owner with right of survivorship or a beneficiary (pay-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiary).
Hmmm, does having a trust avoid probate? Could that have been why there was no inventory done?

iris lily

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1733 on: July 02, 2019, 08:42:30 PM »
Reading Grimsqeaker’s list of who is likely to blame in estrangements, it doesn't  help me figure out what happened in DH’s family. His niece stopped speaking to her parents ten years ago, about the time she graduated from college.

Niece is a nice young lady with a  responsible job and many interests. She has gone on to get a advanced degree, she got married,  she maintains a close relationship with her brother and her brother’s  child. She has a good relationship with her husband’s family. 

Before she went to college she was really tied to her mothers apron strings, So this pulling apart is doubly odd.

 Her mother is a nice enough but she is the most annoying of DH’s siblings, according to him.I would say they were a little strict in raising niece and her brother, but also the kids had activities and pets as well as chores on the farm.

There is no substance abuse of any kind in either generation.  I think our niece’s father is probably more to blame in this estrangement than her mother, but it’s hard to know.


« Last Edit: July 02, 2019, 08:44:04 PM by iris lily »

Imma

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1734 on: July 03, 2019, 01:50:51 AM »
You never know what goes on behind closed doors. My dad tells everyone he has no idea why I've cut him off. In my hometown everyone is angry at me because I'm such an uncaring daughter.

I grew up in a family where domestic violence was just a normal part of daily life and severed ties after a particularly bad incident when I was 23. I've cut him out off my will in a way that cannot be contested. I hope he has removed me from his will too, any money I would get is going to a domestic violence charity. I would like to get some personal possensions back but I think he will make sure I'll never get them.

A Fella from Stella

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1735 on: July 03, 2019, 03:35:04 AM »
..........................any money I would get is going to a domestic violence charity.............


So sorry for what you went through. It had to take a lot of strength to walk away.

If you are left something in the will and still feel it would best be in a charity, for no/low cost you can make sure the news picks up that that's where your inheritance went. Of course, there's also always FB, or whatever is being used then.

This will be a means of protecting your reputation since they obviously don't care to protect you from near or far.

Hope moving on has been positive.

SwordGuy

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1736 on: July 03, 2019, 05:50:07 AM »
You never know what goes on behind closed doors. My dad tells everyone he has no idea why I've cut him off. In my hometown everyone is angry at me because I'm such an uncaring daughter.

I grew up in a family where domestic violence was just a normal part of daily life and severed ties after a particularly bad incident when I was 23. I've cut him out off my will in a way that cannot be contested. I hope he has removed me from his will too, any money I would get is going to a domestic violence charity.

Good for you.   We're all proud of you and what you've accomplished despite that treatment.

In the USA, every state has a sex offender registry.  People can get a list of known, convicted sex offenders living near them.   There are 322 registered offenders within 5 miles of where I live.    That's not unusual for an urban area by the way.   MANY of those 322 are there for molesting children.   Probably family members since those would be the easiest victims for most people.

Keep in mind, that 322 number is the ones we caught and already imprisoned.   It doesn't include the ones we haven't let out and it most certainly doesn't include the ones that were never turned in by their family or those who knew the children well enough to spot the signs.  It's the tippy-tip-top of the iceberg.

And that's not counting the ones who were violent instead of molesters.   God knows how many of them there are but I bet it's way more than sexual predators.

As Imma said, you don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

That's why I maintain that children aren't likely to permanently cut off contact for no good reason.   

Am I accusing any specific person who has had a child cut them off of being a sexual predator or violent person or just a mean, controlling, cruel person?   

No, I'm not.  So, whomever you are, don't bother with indignant responses justifying yourself.  Really, save yourself the trouble.   No matter what you say we won't know whether you're a bullshitter or just an unlucky parent with a hateful kid.

What I am saying is that the odds favor one explanation by multiple orders of magnitude and those odds are in favor of the child's actions.

 
« Last Edit: July 03, 2019, 06:52:05 PM by SwordGuy »

AMandM

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1737 on: July 03, 2019, 06:17:32 AM »
Reading Grimsqeaker’s list of who is likely to blame in estrangements, it doesn't  help me figure out what happened in DH’s family. His niece stopped speaking to her parents ten years ago, about the time she graduated from college.
[...]
Before she went to college she was really tied to her mothers apron strings, So this pulling apart is doubly odd.

Could it be that it had to be all or nothing? Maybe the mother couldn't/wouldn't let the daughter be independent, so she had to sever all ties? Just speculating.

jinga nation

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1738 on: July 03, 2019, 08:32:38 AM »
Hmmm, does having a trust avoid probate?
It does, in my state.
Source: got my trust done last month.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2019, 09:02:32 AM by jinga nation »

BeanCounter

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1739 on: July 03, 2019, 08:51:27 AM »
If your careful and smart, you can avoid probate altogether without a trust. Just do all the paperwork and it's possible. You would still need a will, "just in case". But nobody would ever see it unless they contested one of the beneficiaries (for TOD, POD, etc)

jinga nation

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1740 on: July 03, 2019, 09:01:45 AM »
If your careful and smart, you can avoid probate altogether without a trust. Just do all the paperwork and it's possible. You would still need a will, "just in case". But nobody would ever see it unless they contested one of the beneficiaries (for TOD, POD, etc)

Taking chances in this day and age in this litigious society are not my thing. An amount trivial to me may mean a lot for someone else.
We had the trust and wills paperwork drawn up for "free" using the legal plan offered by employer, costs a couple of bucks per month. Had 2 1-hour meetings, a couple of emails with questions. Worth it. We had documented all our assets upfront and made it easy for the lawyer (and ourselves now that we're switching to making the trust secondary beneficiary).

iris lily

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1741 on: July 03, 2019, 09:18:39 AM »
Reading Grimsqeaker’s list of who is likely to blame in estrangements, it doesn't  help me figure out what happened in DH’s family. His niece stopped speaking to her parents ten years ago, about the time she graduated from college.
[...]
Before she went to college she was really tied to her mothers apron strings, So this pulling apart is doubly odd.

Could it be that it had to be all or nothing? Maybe the mother couldn't/wouldn't let the daughter be independent, so she had to sever all ties? Just speculating.

I have thought about that, and it’s possible, but I do think of something more than that.

TVRodriguez

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1742 on: July 03, 2019, 09:48:03 AM »
Hmmm, does having a trust avoid probate?
It does, in my state.
Source: got my trust done last month.

Having a trust may avoid probate if you are careful to retitle your assets in the name of the trust (or rather, in the name of the trustee, as trustee of the trust).  Having a trust by itself will not avoid probate if you do not get around to retitling assets.

Having a trust may not avoid disclosure of financial information to beneficiaries if your jurisdiction's trust code requires disclosure of the trust document and an accounting.

If your careful and smart, you can avoid probate altogether without a trust. Just do all the paperwork and it's possible. You would still need a will, "just in case". But nobody would ever see it unless they contested one of the beneficiaries (for TOD, POD, etc)

Yes, you may be able to avoid probate without a trust.  POD, TOD, named beneficiaries on policies and accounts may eliminate any probate.  IF your beneficiaries predecease you, however, your estate lands right back in probate, and without a will, the laws of your state will decide who gets what.  Ask me how I know.  Never mind, I'll tell you--I've handled estates where the decedent tried to avoid probate using POD accounts, and the benes died before the decedents did, and the decedents didn't get a chance or never bothered to list new POD benes.

TVRodriguez

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1743 on: July 03, 2019, 09:52:36 AM »
Also, just to add to my last comment:  each jurisdiction is different.  I've practiced in several now, and probate practice varies wildly.  In some jurisdictions, probate is no big deal, it's quick and easy, and it's fairly private b/c anyone interested would have to go down to the courthouse and dig through records to find anything.  In other jurisdictions, probate is long, tedious, expensive, and a hassle at best, plus it's all quite public with lots of info available online for anyone good with searching. 

Talk to a local lawyer who practices in the areas of estate planning and probate to find out what best practices are where you live and if you move, talk to a lawyer in your new location to find out if you need to change anything.

artemidorus

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1744 on: July 03, 2019, 10:17:57 AM »
Woman I know (GF) was warned early by her boyfriend that they likely could never get serious because of his grandmother. Naturally, that went out the window and they fell in love, years have passed and marriage is pending. This warning came because of GF's race.

Several years before, BF's sister had brought home a man, who happens to be the same race as GF. Grandma lost it, flipped out in front of the entire family. To this man's face, declared that they were an "inferior race" and that the sister was out of her will for as long as she was dating him. (Grandma's net worth is somewhere in the range of $30M - $50M, enough that she can boss around her grandchildren and expect it to get her somewhere, because even spread across the family, everyone can be a millionaire when she passes. This threat is apparently employed liberally.)

Sister marries this man, relationship with grandma is destroyed, and they don't invite grandma to the wedding. Sister is effectively excommunicated from the family, not because they're racist, but because they want to stay in grandma's good graces and are too afraid to be seen as taking sister's side.

BF now is stuck learning from this lesson. He is cool as a cucumber about being removed from the will, but faces the difficult task of still going through the process of grandma finding out he is dating/will marry someone of that race. He plans to sit grandma down, say he's marrying GF no matter what, and money won't influence that decision. He wants to see if there's a middle ground where he doesn't have to go the rest of his life without speaking to his grandmother. I expect she'll just throw a temper tantrum because her threat of "out of the will" can't influence yet another grandchild, and whatever middle ground he's envisioning will never present itself. 

Based on the stories I'm glancing over in this thread (trying to catch up), maybe he and his sister will glad to be out of the will. Might just save them a lot of added drama when the time comes.

DadJokes

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1745 on: July 03, 2019, 10:34:28 AM »
@artemidorus that sounds like a nightmare, and I am happy that they both are choosing to walk away from $1m+ to be out of that situation. We have cut ties with a friend of my wife's parents, because he has begun to go on more and more racist diatribes as dementia/Alzheimer's has set in. Wife's parents have also drastically reduced their interactions with him. The person I feel most sorry for is his wife, who has no choice but to put up with it. She told my MIL that they were too broke to get divorced.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1746 on: July 03, 2019, 10:47:49 AM »
Reading Grimsqeaker’s list of who is likely to blame in estrangements, it doesn't  help me figure out what happened in DH’s family. His niece stopped speaking to her parents ten years ago, about the time she graduated from college.
[...]
Before she went to college she was really tied to her mothers apron strings, So this pulling apart is doubly odd.

Could it be that it had to be all or nothing? Maybe the mother couldn't/wouldn't let the daughter be independent, so she had to sever all ties? Just speculating.

I have thought about that, and it’s possible, but I do think of something more than that.

Estrangement is what happens when at least one half of the estranged pair believes that the maximum safe level of contact is zero. Whether the belief has a basis in fact-- whether the person who insists on and then enforces zero contact-- depends a lot on how both sides of the estranged pair handle boundaries.

A lot of families don't do boundaries well, and kids who grow up in those families generally end up thinking that their only available options for relationships are "close and unhealthy" or "zero". In reality there's plenty of spots in between that can sometimes be viable. There are plenty of families that allow one or more people to bulldoze over children's boundaries without ever crossing the line into the kind of abuse that gets legal authorities involved.

partgypsy

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1747 on: July 03, 2019, 11:11:46 AM »
My sister used to work at a (nice) retirement home. And there were some people who were estranged from their kids. Sometimes she said you could tell why from their personalities why (they were a pill to everyone), other times, you couldn't. But what she said was far more common was kids who weren't estranged but just didn't have time for the parent(s) anymore. They would get a call on their birthday, maybe come by once a year around christmas, but other than that their kids didn't visit. Some of the kids lived nearby (within an hour). Of course doesn't know everything but according to my sister some of these people were really sweet, and she thought it was so sad they seemed forgotten by their children. If anything I think my sister got a little over-involved while she was dining room manager there, because she loved to schedule and plan various events and activities during the holidays and hang out with them and let them talk and reminisce.   
« Last Edit: July 03, 2019, 11:34:41 AM by partgypsy »

PDXTabs

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1748 on: July 03, 2019, 11:41:54 AM »
artemidorus,

That stuff happened in my family back in the 60s and 70s, just with less money on the line. In a serendipitous turn of events the least racist people lived the longest and through a chain of inheritance a real amount of that money did eventually end up in the mixed race family that was originally disowned.

partgypsy

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Re: Inheritance Drama: You Got Any? Stories Wanted.
« Reply #1749 on: July 03, 2019, 07:28:05 PM »
My Dad died very suddenly 30 years ago. My older sister and her husband lived nearby and drove Mom around to the mortuary and cemetery to make the arrangements while I stayed home to field the phone. (I was 20 and in college.)
When they returned home, sister and BIL caught me alone and asked, "Does Mom have any money?"
I knew my parents frugal ways as well as I knew their spendthrift ways so I answered evasively, "I don't know. Why?"
"Well, you know, Mom's so upset that we've paid for everything today but we don't know if Mom has any money to pay us back."
"I don't know. You'll have to ask her."

Once they left, I told Mom about the exchange. She silently got up and brought back her checkbook, where she--as always--had meticulously recorded every expense that she had paid that day.
I have no idea what they thought they might get or why.

They moved out of state several years later and didn't bother to visit Mom for 16 years. When she finally did visit, my sister took the opportunity to ask my Mom who was going to get the house. Mom told her that she was leaving it to me since I was the only one who had been there for her. Sister stormed out of the house and didn't return, not even for Mom's funeral last year.

Mom left her and my brother $25K each. She told me many times, "They don't deserve anything, but if I don't give them something they'll never leave you alone."

Right after the cashier's check cleared, BIL posted a picture of his shiny new pickup on his Facebook page.

She knew them very well indeed.
Ugh.