Does financial success mean you deserve less from your parents?
A self-made millionaire was surprised when his father asked whether he’d be okay receiving a smaller inheritance so his sister could get more. While his sister’s college education, horses, land, truck, and home were heavily supported by their parents over the years, he built his wealth on his own. Now he’s questioning whether financial success should affect how parents divide an inheritance.
Oh… the eternal debate among siblings. Although this could never happen to my sisters or me, I have a lot of friends who deal with inequity with their siblings. For some of my acquaintances, their parents are super fair and give the same amount of things to all of their kids, whereas others decide which kid gets more based on their skills and how well they are doing in life.
Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to help a bit more to the struggling sister here, but I don’t think that’s fair for the brother. As he explains, during their entire lives, the parents were more supportive of her: paying for those crazy horse riding lessons or even buying her the house where she lives now. So, with this precedent, I don’t think it’s fair what the parents want to do.
The worst part is that he’s the one who’s writing the will. Meaning, he’s the one who will be completing that task for free, while his sister gets even more money from the parents. The son is being fair when he says that they should be spending their money on them, since they earned it, and not debating what to leave each kid.
And that’s what makes this situation so complicated. The son insists he isn’t angry at his sister and doesn’t even expect to receive an inheritance. Overall, it’s less about the money itself and more about what the decision seems to say about how his parents view their two children.
Author: Kayitsi.com
