How can I manage/invest £135k

Sandyhamster

The probate process following my mothers death is due to be complete next month.
I am due to inherit £135k and am unsure how to manage/invest this wisely.

I am married with 2 children, work full time. I don't necessarily want to pay off my remaining 109k mortgage.

Each of my children (9 and 6) will also receive a monetary gift of 10k each which I wish to save for them for when they are older. Not sure best options etc.

Everything seems like a minefield and is so overwhelming.... I so wish I had Mum back rather than the money.

Any help/advice would be gratfully received.

george4064

I would suggest you consult an IFA for professional advice.

eskbanker

Sandyhamster wrote: »

Everything seems like a minefield and is so overwhelming.... I so wish I had Mum back rather than the money.

Any help/advice would be gratfully received.

There's a lot to be said for just putting the money somewhere safe and simple (such as NS&I) for now while you come to terms with your loss.

Then, once the dust has settled, maybe early next year (or whenever you're ready), you can devote a bit more time and attention to making that money work best for you.

Paying off your mortgage may make sense, depending on the rate you're paying, but it's not a no-brainer in strict financial terms (but can be psychologically reassuring), so you'd really need to consider what you're likely to want to do with the money and when, before sorting out how best to achieve that.

Junior ISAs are likely to be at least part of the answer for the children but again, they can be researched at your leisure....

silvermum

Firstly, sorry for your loss.

I was in a similar situation to you a few years ago and I felt totally overwhelmed and not ready to make important decisions.

Eskbanker's advice is very good - a priority should be to put the money somewhere safe and not rush into any quick decisions. Give yourself time to grieve and then time to think about the future and plan/research all your options.
After probate I put the lump sum into NS&I. The reason this is a good idea is that NS&I is backed by HM Treasury, so the full amount will be as 'safe' as possible. Banks/building societies only have £85000 FSCS protection per institution, so you'd have to split the lump sum if you wanted to place it with e.g. a high street provider. In practice, there aren't so many high street bank accounts that accept huge lump sums anyway.

My children received inheritance too and I put it into the Nationwide Smart Limited Access Account: https://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/savings/smart-limited-access/features-and-benefits

And opened a Halifax Junior ISA (which can't be accessed until they are 18): https://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/cash-isas/junior-cash-isa/

But do check the latest rates on this site, as there may be better alternatives now?

Mnd

Sorry about your loss, I agree to put the money secure and wait till you can deal with it, I do think that with that amount of money you need professional advice when the time is right

xylophone

With regard to the children's inheritance, the elder has a CTF? Possibly the younger does too?

If so, it would be possible to make the full contribution in the CTF year, transfer to JISA and make the full JISA contribution.

The balance could be held in a suitable child account and added to the JISA in the following year.

The JISA can be split between cash and stocks and shares if desired

https://www.skintedmintedmum.co.uk/minted-blog/how-to-transfer-a-child-trust-fund-ctf-to-jisa-with-a-double-scoop-of-tax-allowance.html

https://www.gov.uk/junior-individual-savings-accounts

With regard to your own inheritance, you will need to consider whether you want to keep it in cash/stocks and shares/reduce the mortgage.

Deposit rates are poor but it may be possible for you and your husband to use interest paying current accounts.

You may wish to consider pension contributions.

http://monevator.com/investing-for-beginners-the-global-stock-market/

http://moneytothemasses.com/saving-for-your-future/investing/the-best-stocks-and-shares-investment-isa-the-cheapest-fund-platform

grandst

Have you stress tested various scenarios such as job loss, rising interest rates, collapsing stock markets against paying off the mortgage. If you pay off the mortgage the worst that can happen is you have a secure home to live in with money left over.

Linton

Having put the money into NS&I or similar for safety the next task is for you to think through what you want the money for, how much, and when. Some put away for the children now, some for short term expenditure on a holiday/house improvement/replacing an old car etc, some for long term such as retirement etc etc. It is likely that you will need to do something different to meet each objective. So dont necessarily think of it as a large lump sum which you need to do something with, but rather a number of smaller sums.

If you ask for help from an IFA this is one of the key questions that will need to be answered, so best you think about it first.

Sandyhamster

Thank you all for your messages. This post was just the start of dealing with everything. Hopefully by looking into the options you all suggest one by one then the right thing to do will emerge. Certainly splitting into smaller pots is good way to work with it.