She’s demanding her inheritance … or else

Q We have two daughters, “Christine,” who is completely responsible, and “Laura,” who is anything but. Because Laura is a spendthrift who would quickly blow through any money she inherited from us, my husband and I decided to have the 50 percent share of our estate that we’re leaving to her held in trust.

Christine is to administer this money and distribute it to Laura only as she needs it. When Laura dies, any money left is to be divided among her children. Unfortunately, my husband — even though I asked him not to — insisted on telling Laura the terms of our will “so there will be no surprises.” When he did, Laura became furious, saying we were “setting her up to have to beg her sister for money” and promising to sue “to get my money.”

She then ordered my husband and me out of her apartment and has subsequently cut off all contact with us. Are there changes we could make to our will that would calm Laura down but still accomplish our goals?

— Troubled, Oklahoma A The problem is not your will. The problem is Laura. This is your money, not hers, and your will reflects your wishes for distributing it, wishes informed by what you see as the character of your children and the needs of your family.

Shame on Laura for trying to bully you into changing it. You can try to make your will more palatable to her by appointing an administrator other than Christine, say, or by leaving her a small amount of money to spend as she pleases. But we’d bet there’s no way to appease Laura without leaving one-half of your estate to her outright, and you have an excellent reason for not doing that.

Our advice? Tell the lawyer who prepared your will how Laura reacted, and ask him or her if any changes are needed to ensure that your daughter cannot have it overturned. Other than that, all you can do is leave the porch light on and hope Laura comes to her senses. In the meantime, don’t worry too much about your drama-queen offspring. It’s Christine who deserves your sympathy: She’s the one who, once you’re gone, is going to have to deal with Laura’s histrionics.

DEAR READERS >> After enjoying the pleasure and honor of your attention for so many years, we’ve decided the time has come for us to say goodbye. As we do so, we cannot tell you how appreciative we are that you’ve made time in your lives for “Money Manners.”

You could not have been a better audience: kind enough to let us know when we hit the mark, unhesitant to let us know when you thought we missed it, and generous enough to share your stories with us. Thank you for being so engaged and attentive. It has been a pleasure to write for you. We wish you good fortune, good cheer and good relatives.

Next week we will debut a new column, “Problem Solved” by Christopher Elliott. Elliott has been advocating for consumers for more than two decades. He’ll go toe-totoe with manufacturers, retailers and service companies to fix your thorniest problems. You can read his daily consumer advocacy blog at Elliott. org.