My son and his wife are charging us interest on money they 'invested' for us.
By @tatefr · Money
We gave our son and his wife a significant amount of money a few years back to help with a down payment on their first house. they told us they'd 'invest' it for us, but now that we're retired and need it back, they've presented us with a spreadsheet showing the original amount plus 'market-based interest' that we now owe them for managing it.
The full story
When my wife and I were still working, we had a good bit saved up. Our son and his wife were struggling to get into the housing market, so we gave them what amounted to a little over $75,000 to get them started. It wasn't a loan in our eyes; it was a gift to help family. they insisted on calling it an 'investment' and said they'd make it grow for us. To be honest, I thought it was just their way of feeling better about accepting the money. Well, that was almost ten years ago. Now, we're both retired, and our savings aren't stretching as far as we'd hoped. they told them we needed the principal back, as we'd discussed might happen one day. They came over for dinner last week and brought a laptop. They pulled up a spreadsheet detailing how our initial 'investment' had apparently grown with the market, but their 'management' of it meant we now owed them a portion of the gains as interest. They're saying they'll only return the money if we agree to pay them this 'fee' for their financial savvy. It feels like they're holding our own money hostage. We never asked them to invest it, it was a gift to them that we now need back, and they're treating us like clients who owe them a commission.
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 38% (11 votes)
- Both Messy — 41% (12 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 21% (6 votes)
Readers are split: “Both Messy” leads with 41% — 29 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@mehhh — The entitlement is staggering, they're completely disrespecting you.
@yeahno — My sister tried to do this with a car my parents bought her, it got super awkward at Thanksgiving.
@reeselately — You never mix family and money, period.
@ines — nahhhh
@nicohm — cooked.
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