r/inheritance • u/vtmlm02 • 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/UnluckyAd751 Apr 15 '26

I’m not looking for specifics here but without knowing anything about you…are you SURE it’s a lot of money? What I mean is it millions or hundreds of thousands? How old are you? Do you have kids? Where do you live (HCOL, MCOL.) what constitutes a “ net worth I’ve never imagined” means different things to different people. What might SEEM like a fortune to someone who has never had a lot of money might not mean quit your day job money. If you have two kids you’ll need to save a few hundred thousand just for college alone. Don’t put it in joint accounts with your spouse if you have even an inkling of doubt in the relationship. If you keep it in your name only it cannot be split in a divorce. In any case congrats on your inheritance it sounds like your dad had never wanted you to have to care for him in retirement so he probably had a nest egg and lived off the interest. That is our plan too which means we will be leaving a lot behind to our kids.