An inheritance can stir up a lot of family drama, especially when one sibling feels that another is getting special treatment. That's the case for Sue, whose 80-year-old mother wants to give Sue's younger brother, Trevor, part of his inheritance early to cover college costs for his three children. Jeff Bezos backs a platform that lets anyone invest in rental homes for as little as $100 — 6 ways to build wealth like a landlord without actually being one Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake.
Here's what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP The tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028. Here are 4 moves to make before the window closes Trevor has never been particularly good with money and hasn't put away much, if anything, for his kids' education or his own retirement. He also tends to mismanage his money and, on a few occasions, has asked for handouts from his big sister and his mother.
Sue, on the other hand, is married but doesn't have any children. She's always played by the rules — budgeting, saving and investing her money to ensure she has a comfortable life and retirement. While Sue doesn't want to upset her mother, she feels like she's being penalized for being child-free — and for being the 'responsible' child.
While Sue isn't opposed to the idea of supporting her nephew and two nieces with their post-secondary education, she feels it's unfair that her brother gets an early inheritance and she doesn't — because she's child-free. But unequal inheritances are more common than one might realize. More than one-third (35%) of parents over 50 plan to divide their estate unequally among their children, according to research from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study.
This typically isn't because one child is favored over another. Maybe one child has a greater financial need, or maybe one child has already received support (such as money for a down payment on a house). Or, maybe one child helped out with caregiving duties significantly more than another.
In these cases, a parent or parents may feel that an even split may not be a 'fair' split. One way to ease some of the tension is if Sue's mother deducts Trevor's early inheritance from his share of the estate, so they still get an equal share — only Sue will have to wait for hers until her mother passes. Or, Sue could suggest that her mother give her an early inheritance, too — but in Sue's case, since she's child-free, she could use that money to invest for her own retirement.
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