{"id":520207,"date":"2026-03-05T11:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T11:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/520207\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T11:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T11:39:17","slug":"how-this-bossy-sister-is-making-sure-the-kids-get-their-piece-of-her-fathers-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/520207\/","title":{"rendered":"How this \u2018bossy\u2019 sister is making sure the kids get their piece of her father\u2019s estate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Illustration by The Globe and Mail. Sources: Getty Images<\/p>\n

The beneficiary: At 66, \u201cLaura\u201d from Winnipeg is the self-admitted \u201cbossy big sister\u201d of the family. Her father recently died, leaving his estate to his five children, as well as his 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, who are under the age of 5. Since money-savvy Laura is her father\u2019s executor, making sure those kiddos see their share is this retired fundraiser\u2019s current task. It\u2019s not as simple as it sounds. <\/p>\n

The inheritance: Everyone in the family got a little something from from the almost seven-figure estate, including the great-grandkids, who were given $10,000 each with a caveat: \u201cThe will says the money must be used for education, but it doesn\u2019t actually specify an RESP,\u201d Laura says. Here\u2019s where things get tricky, since the minor recipients\u2019 parents feel differently about where that money should go. \u201cThe problem is, what do we do with the money until the kids turn 18? And how do I ensure that the money is available to them then?\u201d <\/p>\n

What she learned: Contrary to what her father was told, grandparents \u2013 or great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, family friends or distant relatives \u2013 can absolutely open an RESP for a child. The account-opener, called the \u201csubscriber,\u201d only needs the child\u2019s name, address and social insurance number. The subscriber doesn\u2019t require parental consent or even to tell the child\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n

Waiting for $1-million: What this 55-year-old project manager learned from getting stuck in inheritance limbo<\/a><\/p>\n

As far as she sees it, Laura has a few options here: First, she could open six RESPs for six great-grandchildren and plop in a $10,000 lump sum into each. \u201cI\u2019d be following my dad\u2019s wishes, which is important, but I worry I\u2019d be overcontributing and I wouldn\u2019t be able to take advantage of government grants,\u201d she says. The federal government indeed matches 20 per cent of RESP contributions up to $500 a year, which is why many experts believe a $2,500 annual contribution (or $210 a month) to be the so-called \u201csweet spot.\u201d <\/p>\n

To maximize the grant and keep things simple, Laura could simply give the money to the parents and trust them to deposit $2,500 over the next four years. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I don\u2019t trust them to do that, but they all manage money differently and have different risk tolerances,\u201d she says. Some have already expressed a \u201cbetter\u201d use of the money in the meantime. For the less money-savvy among them, should the roof leak or the dog need surgery or someone need braces, it could be tempting use great-grandpa\u2019s money. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t feel personally responsible,\u201d Laura says of that hypothetical situation, \u201cbut I\u2019d be disappointed and I\u2019d have regrets about my choice.\u201d <\/p>\n

One more option: \u201cAs executor, I could purchase six separate bank-held mutual funds to create income with no risk of principal depreciation.\u201d Taxable income would therefore be in Laura\u2019s name, however, which is a small part of a larger problem. \u201cI\u2019d like the estate to be settled this year,\u201d she says, \u201cand I absolutely do not want to be still dealing with this when I\u2019m my dad\u2019s age.\u201d <\/p>\n

How a sibling\u2019s unexpected emergency put an equal inheritance to the test<\/a><\/p>\n

What she did with it: After consulting with two banks and her estate lawyer, Laura came up with a solution that\u2019s actually a blend of all three. \u201cI\u2019ve decided I\u2019m going to open a joint account with the parent of the great-grandkids and put the $20,000 \u2013 because each family has two kids \u2013 in there,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Provided the parent provides a receipt showing they\u2019ve moved $2,500 per kid, per year, into an RESP, Laura plans to be otherwise flexible with how and why the younger generation spends the money. \u201cI decided I can\u2019t and don\u2019t need to be involved in managing someone else\u2019s money for 18 more years,\u201d she says. This way, as joint-account-owner, Laura will be involved for just four more years to make sure the RESP money (plus the annual grant) lands. Then she\u2019ll log out and gracefully step back. <\/p>\n

Just as the parents might eventually not approve of their kids\u2019 field of study, should they even pursue one, Laura might not approve of the parents\u2019 choices, and there\u2019s likely nothing either of them can do about it. \u201cI realized I was trying to control everything and everybody,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I can\u2019t, just like my dad couldn\u2019t, and I\u2019ll just have to trust everyone to respect their grandfather enough to follow his wishes.\u201d If they don\u2019t, it won\u2019t be for a very long time, and nobody can say this bossy older sister didn\u2019t try her very best. <\/p>\n

Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled. Have you recently received an inheritance and would like to participate in Inherited? Send us an e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Illustration by The Globe and Mail. Sources: Getty Images The beneficiary: At 66,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,186,184,185,4825,40077],"class_list":{"0":"post-520207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance","14":"tag-r-fp","15":"tag-yessnap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}