‘This money is not yours’: Family demands kid give up the money he received from his grandmother's inheritance, claiming it was actually meant to go to his father

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    My family claims the inheritance in my name is actually for my dad
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    Tl;dr: My dad is in trouble with the IRS, so he told my grandma to leave him out of her will, and give me whatever she'd planned to give him. Now that she's gone, my family is telling me to cash out that money and give it to him.
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    Longer story: My dad is a longtime tax evader who finally got caught and has a big civil liability to the IRS. When my grandma was writing her will, she told me "Your dad said the IRS will take the money
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    if I give it to him, so I'm giving it to you instead." My dad was present for this conversation. I was super grateful because even though my grandma wasn't wealthy, I'm very low income and even a "small"
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    amount could really improve my life. My grandma d' a few months ago and I was told I was inheriting a portion of her IRA among other things. The estate is not settled so at this time I've received nothing yet.
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    Then one day my dad awkwardly announced that I needed to cash out my entire share of the IRA and give it to him so he can pay off his wife's very expensive car. (To put things in perspective, I
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    inherited my grandma's 15 year old car and it's the first time I've owned a car in 5 years. And this money is more than I make in 6 months.)
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    I assumed this was delusional thinking on my dad's part, but now I've heard from other relatives that I'm apparently expected to give this money to him.
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    No one ever asked my consent for this arrangement, if it was indeed my grandma's desire, and if they had, I would not have accepted. Receiving this much money disqualifies me for some of the social services I
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    receive, and this kind of IRA is taxable once withdrawn. Not to mention that this sure feels like abetting a crime (tax evasion) and money laundering.
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    Is there any way this familial expectation could be legal? I do care for my aunt who is the executor and don't want to cause trouble for her, or dishonor my grandma's wishes. What should I do?
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    rlezar 1 day ago • Is there any way this familial expectation could be legal? Your family can have all the expectations they want. As far as the law is concerned, your grandma's will reflected her
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    wishes, and she left that inheritance to you. If she actually wanted that money to go to your dad without the IRS being able to touch it, she should have figured out how to do so without putting you in the middle.
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    Legally you are 100% in the clear to take the inheritance, keep it for yourself, manage it in your own best interests, and deal with the family fallout as you will. Nobody has any legal right to your inheritance. They can
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    challenge grandma's will if they want to fight you on this or make claims that she really meant to do something totally different than she actually did.
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    Well, good news. You can also formally disclaim the inheritance in full or in part. You can refuse to take any of it at all, or pick and choose what you are willing to accept, like the car and even some portion of the IRA, and refuse to accept the remainder. Nobody can force an inheritance on you.
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    I'm sorry your family s S and expects you to accept the full inheritance, cash out the IRA immediately, take the tax hit, render yourself ineligible for those social services you mentioned, and then just hand that money over to your dad so he can continue to evade taxes. That's
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    outrageously unreasonable, even if it is what grandma wanted. You should consider consulting with an attorney and a financial advisor regardless to figure out how to handle this in your best interests.
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    mmaalex 1 day ago • Don't assist dad in committing tax fraud. Cashing out an IRA will leave YOU with a tax bill. Presumably your dad is a legal adult, maybe it's time he acts like one.
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    • Steve NotSteve Not 1 day ago Under no circumstances should you accept the money and then give it back to your family. As you say, it will make you ineligible for income- based services. And you may have to pay taxes on the
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    inheritance, which you cannot do if you've given the money away. Your family is bad at money and it's causing them big problems. Now they're trying to life, too. your
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    GunnieGraves · 1 day ago As others have said, speak to a lawyer. Your family is committing tax evasion and attempting to rope you into it. You need to protect yourself.

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