My (30F) ex (31M) died in September 2020, leaving behind our beautiful daughter who recently turned 8. He did not have a huge life insurance policy, just one through work that pays out a year’s worth of his salary, but she also collects Social Security benefits monthly that I deposit into a savings account for her. Because I don’t need any help affording to pay for her right now, the entirety of the SS payment goes into her savings, and the life insurance policy I had put into an account that no one can access except my daughter herself when she is 18. This account collects interest once a year and I don’t have to pay taxes on it because I am not accountable for it.
None of this is anything I could have ever prepared myself for, and I didn’t grow up with parents who knew the first or last thing about money. In fact, both of my parents are living in poverty and hardly can afford to feed themselves. That’s just what I’ve always known, so leaving the money away from anyone that could potentially even ask to “borrow” it was key for me.
So I guess I need some advice. Maybe from someone who has also put large sums of money away, or someone who is good with investments? Maybe someone who also lost a parent and was left a large sum of money but spent it poorly and wishes they would have done something different? Her savings account with the SS benefits collects more than I make, and is quickly passing up my own account, and will for the next 10 years. I want to help my daughter make the best decisions with the money being left to her. I know she would much rather have her dad than this money but I am grateful that she will have so much more opportunity than I ever did and I’d like to make it count. It isn’t astronomically huge, but it’s a lot of money to me and will definitely help her start a good life.
I don’t want to ask anyone I know for advice since I don’t believe it is their business, and I honestly know nothing about this stuff so talking to a professional has made me feel small. Any advice?
Submitted April 13, 2021 at 07:35AM by lawnmowersareneat https://ift.tt/2QlIHxn
