Inheritance $ - What would you do?

[JamesMom]

I don't want to sound like a downer but I wouldn't count your eggs just yet. Money does strange things to families and since your mother didn't have a will there maybe some inside squabbling between you and your siblings. Things may seem all peace and quiet but when money gets involved people get greedy.

Just because you took care of your mother and paid for things while she was alive does not guarantee you a bigger portion in her estate. I would think the estate would have to be split evenly between your siblings no matter who cared for her.

My lawyer said that if I can produce receipts and cancelled checks proving I paid for my mother's care then I would be debtor on her estate and would be reimbursed for those expenses as well as her funeral costs.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I would pay my house off as soon as I could with the economy the way it is. Let the student loans wait since the bank has all of this bail out money.

Whaaat? How does this even make sense?

 

[crisi]

We had the same issue a number of years ago.

We paid down all our our non-mortgage debt as step #1.

We took care of home repairs (in our case it was a brand new house - so it was not necessarily repairs as much as it was landscaping).

I was driving a very old car - we replaced that.

We then paid down our own mortgage as much as possible.

 

[TnTWalter]

pay off all debt besides house. if still some left beef up retirement. if still some left, college. if still some left put on your mortgage.

i'd include sale of mom's house into the money you use to do the above.

sorry for your loss but enjoy the blessing she's given you.

 

[Anna114]

I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my father Jan 09 and my mother in May 09. I have done a few things with my inheritance. I did buy my dream vehicle, 2009 4 door Jeep Wrangler. Purchased 153 DVC points, I payed off all of my credit cards and paid much of my husbands. I also purchased 5 acres of property (retirement) in Hancock, NH. I am also ready to do both the front and back porches of my house along with a few other updates to my house. Sadly my parents didn't plan on dying at 76 and 75 respectively so there was more then I could ever expect. My point, do whatever will make you life the easiest. You've have been through a very hard ordeal and you need to make live easier. Paying my debt was the best part of what I did. If paying your school debt will give you more money (money that will make a difference) then do it. If it is a manageable debt, with low interest, find that thing that will make a difference for you.

 

[thej]

My suggestion is to pay off the student loans before they start to accrue interest. Once you leave defferement, the monthly payment goes up. You can't stay in school forever If your mortgage is at a higher rate than the student loans, refinance it and still pay off the student loans.

Banking the money and using the proceeds to pay the student loans is probably not the best idea. Most student loans are in the 6-8% interest range, and you would be VERY hard pressed to find a secure investment with a 3% yield now... much less something to match or beat the rate on your student loans... oh, yeah and you have to pay income tax on the interest you earn. Muni bonds can avoid that, but the yield is usally offset enough to compensate for the tax free nature... So there's no free lunch.

 

[Vacation Lover]

If the interest on your current home is higher than the interest on the student loans, I'd pay down the mortgage on your home. Then you can put the saved mortgage payment toward the student loans.

As far as your moms home goes, I'd sell it now since you love the home you're in.

So sorry for your loss.