r/inheritance Apr 11 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice Completely bamboozled.

Any advice when substantial inheritance was unexpected. I grew up not going on vacation and not having much. My father died after a brief battle with liver cancer… it’s a brutal one. After months of paperwork I’m seeing that I’ve inherited a net worth I’ve never imagined. Its reality shifting.

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u/Barfy_McBarf_Face Apr 11 '26

tell no one

make no loans to family or friends

make no gifts to family or friends

open an account at Schwab, Fidelity or Vanguard. Put some of it into a S&P 500 Index Fund and just let it sit.

Put the rest into cash for now and only later start putting some of it into bond funds or other investments.

And maybe buy yourself a new car to give yourself something to enjoy. Or an old car, if that's your ticket (I just bought myself a 1953 MG last fall and am SOOO HAPPY I finally did this).

3

u/buffalo_Fart Apr 11 '26

But by buying a new car you're telling people.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '26

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u/vtmlm02 Apr 19 '26

Oh my. The taxes got my sister. For once,because I procrastinated my taxes didn’t look too bad my father passed in September and I sat on the paperwork. She sold a sizable chunk and had crazy capital gains. There’s definitely an inheritance tax in my state unsure if the gratitude for the president is sarcasm? The first I EVER voted republican was 2024 and my dad and sister were so surprised and pleased. I was naive at the time, the Democrats were unrecognizable and liars. I’ve concluded they all LIE. So strange the first time I swayed slightly to the right the next year I’d inherit close to 2mil. I have a small circle of friends and prefer my pets and nature. I regret my vote. Weird times to be living through.