My sister can’t afford to buy me out of my mother’s $450,000 house. What should I do?

I am 54 years old and my sister is 51 years old. What concerns me is that my sister and her husband are financially illiterate and even irresponsible in every way. They have no savings, no retirement, and are living on borrowed time in their current situation. They live only for the present without any plans for the future. Although my wife and I do not live well, our financial situation is much better.

My income is twice their combined income. My mother’s house is worth approximately $450,000. My concern is what to do when my mother dies, hopefully in the next few decades. There is no way my sister and her husband could get a loan for half my fortune to buy me out.

Greed vs. Success

One option is to force a sale of your home. That would make me look like a heel, with cash but no house. My wife and I live in a very nice house and many of our families consider themselves wealthy. Even if they took all of my mother’s liquid assets and only had a $100,000 mortgage, I don’t know if they could change that.

I don’t want to be greedy and I’m not saying there should be a 50/50 split, but you shouldn’t be punished for receiving a fair or reasonable share of your inheritance. You’ve advanced your career, made better decisions, and are in a better position financially. This may be an uncomfortable topic to bring up, but once again, I hope it won’t have to be for a very long time.

Keeping my name on my home forever may be more of a liability than an asset. My brother-in-law has been known to avoid homeowners insurance on his mobile home, which he almost lost insurance to foreclosure, and calls the insurance a “rip-off.” If something happens and I get sued or my house burns down, I also risk losing money.

What are my options?

responsible sisters

RELATED: ‘When I say the sky is blue, she’ll tell me it’s green’: My daughter, 19, will inherit $800,000 How can she invest in her own future?

Dear Representative,

Splitting inherited wealth 50/50 is the right thing to do. Anything else is just icing on the cake. But if you and your sister is Both of you, listed as life tenants, have the right to live in your mother’s house for the rest of your lives. Neither party can sell the property, so please check the exact inheritance status.

According to RK Law, “The remainderman has a future interest in the property, which means that if the life tenant dies or his measured life ends, his rights to the property are guaranteed.” “When a life tenant dies or his or her measured life ends, the property automatically passes to the remainderman without the need for probate.”

You can’t live your sister’s life for her, or go back and make other decisions on her behalf, including choosing a life partner. So, you need to take the extra burden off your sister to fix her life. There is only so much you can do for people, and half of this inheritance could help change her life if she uses it wisely.

You will not be punished. In reality, you are likely to inherit a significant amount of money, so you should take the time to figure out how to spend, save, and invest it. There are a variety of options available to you: upgrade your home, downsize, buy a CD (assuming the price is good), increase your retirement savings, and more.

Financial advisors typically advise you to look for high-quality dividend growth stocks, play it safe with some of your inheritance, and keep your money in cash for a rainy day. Diversify into high-quality short-term bonds and look into gold and other commodities. Please note: Inheritances are considered separate property, not marital property.

money that changes your life

I remember a woman from Texas who inherited $157,998.14 while living below the poverty line. Yes, she counted down to the last cent. Good for her! She spent about $31,000 to build her off-grid tiny house, including the cost of a tiny house DIY camp. She also spent $7,000 on a smart and savvy dentist she found in Mexico.

“I have a solar roof, two small wind turbines that generate all of the power, a rainwater collection/purification system with a water heater and a recirculating shower, so we never run out of clean or hot water,” she said. “Much of the tiny house is made from recycled materials sourced from Craigslist. “Almost everything.”

When your mother dies (if she doesn’t leave you a life lease and instead allows you to sell the house), you could offer to gift your sister and her husband with a financial advisor to help them make wise decisions. This money should not be used to buy things that will eventually depreciate in value over time.

But when it comes to your sister and her husband, your instincts will guide you. It is generally not a good idea to start a business with a family member, and effectively you will do so if you are both co-owners of the home. Maintenance, property taxes and other costs will be borne by you, depending on what you say. A clean break would be wise for everyone’s mental health.

You don’t say how old your mother is now, but I hope she enjoys a healthy life and that her home continues to appreciate in value.

Please confirm Moneyist personal Facebook This is a group looking for answers to life’s trickiest money questions. Post a question, tell us what you’d like to know more about or join us for the latest Moneyist columns.

Moneyist regrets that we are unable to answer questions individually.

Quentin Fottrell’s previous columns:

‘I grew up pretty poor’: I got an annual bonus. After paying off your credit card, you will have $10,000 left over. What should I do?

‘I received a check for my $22,000 insurance claim’: Why on earth does it take 5 days for my check to process?

‘I want to protect my family’: A wealthy father (49 years old) marries his third wife. How do I deal with my inheritance issues?