How to Deal With an Inheritance

At some point, most of us will have to deal with an inheritance after a loved one passes away. Whether it’s a handful of cash, a sprawling mansion or stock in a fortune 500 company, inheritances are a bittersweet byproduct of our human mortality. While it may not do much to ease the pain of your loved one’s passing, an inheritance can take some of the pressure off of your shoulders, allowing you time to grieve and come to terms with what has happened. 

Nevertheless, inheritances are rarely simple. No matter who the inheritance is from or how their will was written, there’s a very good chance that squabbles, disputes and legal quandaries will be the order of the day. It’s unfortunate, but these legal and interpersonal incidents happen far more frequently than any of us would like to admit. 

So what are you to do when faced with these struggles, and is it possible to avert them by any means? What can you do to ease the pain of everyone involved, and make sure that the transfer of goods and titles goes as smoothly as possible? If you’re asking these questions, then you’ve come to the right place, because we’ve got the answers! 

Inheritances: a messy affair

No matter who has passed away, dealing with an inheritance can be a messy ordeal. The prospect of gaining money and property brings out the worst in people, and someone you know and love dearly might be swept up by the desire to gain as much of it for themselves as possible. You might not like to consider the possibility that this will happen to you, but it's more likely than you might think. 

So what are you to do when someone changes in this way, seemingly transforming from loving friend or family member to cold hearted opportunist in a matter of days or weeks? There's no easy answer to this question, but before you can begin to work on helping divide the inheritance and giving each person named in the will their fair share. 

Be the bigger person

The most important thing to remember when in this kind of situation is that money, property and other material goods are temporary. Unless you are in dire need of the money or property allotted to you in the will, it's usually better to try to make concessions and appease the other person or people involved in the dispute rather than taking legal or civil action. 

While this may leave you feeling robbed of something that is rightfully yours, the court battles and personal strife that disputing a will can result in are highly likely to prove more expensive than anything you might win in the end. What's more, taking a friend or loved one to court will almost surely destroy your relationship and leave you feeling bitter and distrustful. 

Even if it means getting less than you had hoped for, an undisputed will is almost always preferable to a legal battle. At the end of the day, you can focus on mourning the passing of your loved one and venerating their memory, rather than immediately dirtying your hands by squabbling over petty cash. 

Help divide the inheritance fairly 

Even if everyone only takes what was willed to them by the deceased, things can still get messy. Dividing an inheritance that consists of more than just some money in a bank account, things can easily get messy even if no one is trying to get a bigger slice of the pie for themselves. In order to avoid this, you’re going to need to try to divide the inheritance amongst yourselves as fairly as possible.

Ultimately, this primarily comes down to being as open and communicative with your family or friends as possible. Arrange a meeting, and talk amongst yourselves to make sure that you understand what the process of dividing the inheritance is going to look like. Be ready to compromise, and don’t make any judgments until you understand the point of view of everyone who is involved. 

If there’s real estate to be divided up, something that will likely prove useful is to find a real estate agent who specializes in estates. These real estate agents are far more experienced than you’re likely to be, and they’ll help you sort out the business of deciding who gets what. Should you and your fellow inheritors decide to sell, your real estate will be in good hands. 

Use it wisely 

Although inheritances can often be quite messy, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes everything goes to plan and things simply don’t go off the rails. Maybe you’re the only person named in the will, or maybe everyone just cooperated and things went according to plan. This happens as well from time to time, but this doesn’t mean you’ll have smooth sailing from here on out. 

When you suddenly come into the possession of a great deal of wealth, it’s easy to spend it frivolously, on anything that pops into your head. It’s tempting to fall into a mindset of wasteful decadence, spending money like it grows on trees. After all, you’ve got plenty; why not have yourself a good time?

If you find yourself taken by this kind of thinking, it’s easy to get carried away, but we would strongly urge you not to. A far better course of action is to continue living within your means and adopt frugal habits. Invest the money you inherited and it will begin to increase; spend it freely and you’ll soon be relieved of it. 

Conclusion

No matter how messy (or not messy) the business of resolving your inheritance turns out to be, it’s important to remember that no amount of money is worth adding additional stress and anxiety to your life. An inheritance can seem like easy money but if you have to fight for it, it’s sometimes better to just let it go. Let the other inheritors fight over the will; while they do that, you can focus on grieving and coming to terms with your loss in a healthy way.

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