Background: My parents divorced when I was young and my mom, who hasn't worked in 20 years, lived off of the support of my dad and my stepmom. My dad was generous with the support and also left my mom their fully payed off house (worth about 800k according to Zillow and Redfin).
Last year my little brother turned 18, meaning my mother no longer receives child support from my dad. I was at home over the holidays and she confided in me that she was 30k+ in credit card debt. Based on her spending habits and lifestyle, (along with ZERO income) this debt is undoubtedly increasing.
The problem has been exacerbated by the fact that I graduated college debt-free last year (scholarships and support from dad) and am now working in a high-income industry making around 120K a year. Should I choose to continue in this industry, my pay has the chance to continue to rise. My mom knows i'm doing well and has recently been spending more and referring to me as "her retirement" and bragging to her friends how rich I will be.
Obviously, this makes me deeply uncomfortable because I may not choose to continue in this industry or could lose my job in a financial downturn. She hasn't asked me for any money yet but seemed to imply that she will rely on my support.
What can I do here? She's been very defensive about any attempts I've made to discuss working on her debt. She also has refused to speak to any credit professionals like I've suggested. I'm uncomfortable about the idea of her counting on my income that may or may not exist in the future. Am I being selfish? I just don't know how to handle this. Thanks for any advice.
Submitted April 07, 2018 at 05:16PM by North_Leave https://ift.tt/2Js5VK0
