Dear Eric: When my husband’s parents died, he and his brother, Jim, each inherited several million dollars. Jim’s daughter, Carol, has always spent more than her income because she expected a big inheritance. When Carol was bequeathed just $10,000 by her grandparents, she was angry but didn’t change her spending habits.
Five years later, Jim unexpectedly died. Jim had told Carol that she would receive his share of the family money but when his will was read, we learned that he had spent most of his inheritance. Again, Carol got very little cash.
