Money Moral Dilemma: Should my brother share the money if he sells the coin collection I gave him?

Monsternextdoor

No you gave it away as it was worthless to you, You can't be interested now that they could be worth something.

colin061

He does not have to, but could offer to share it and should offer to share if he has a modicum of interest in the family.  If he doesn’t you will either have to be irritated, accept it, or blank him. Your choice! 

Gervais3232

colin061 said:

He does not have to, but could offer to share it and should offer to share if he has a modicum of interest in the family.  If he doesn’t you will either have to be irritated, accept it, or blank him. Your choice! 

Very much agree although I do hope he shares.

dysucker

Another easy "dilemma".

No, it's a gift. Doesn't matter when you did it.

If your brother decides to share the proceeds with you, that would be a gift to you, but don't expect it.

Vicxie

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

During my childhood I collected old and rare coins. I eventually lost interest and gave the collection to my younger brother, and as far as I know he's never added to it. I've now discovered some of the coins are very valuable. My brother's mentioned he's considering selling the collection - if he does, should he share the money he makes with me?

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Last year, my brother gave me his old iphone when he got a new iphone. He gave it to me because i had mentioned i wanted to try an apple phone. When i received it, i didn't actually want it anymore and realised it could be sold instead for cash. I told my brother i didn't want it and i could help him list it for sale instead, in the end, he found a buyer before i could for him. I handed the phone back and we were all happy. As his older sister, i didn't feel right selling something he had given to me because i said i wanted it but now wasn't going to use it.

Here the situation is a bit different.

You gave your brother this collection years ago when it was worth nothing. He kept it. If he had decided to give them back to you now that it is worth something, that would be kudos to him but he decided he wanted to sell it for himself because he had been the inheritor for years. From what you have said, i am glad you haven't actually demanded he share the profits with you (i hope so anyway) as this would not be a good look for you. I would have jokingly brought it up with my siblings because we're close like that. Whether or not he decides to share will teach you a valuable lesson on whether or not to give things away quickly.

mrpunk50

If you feel the coins are still your property, your brother should charge you a fee for the years you have been storing your coin collection in his house. 50% of the sale value seems a fair fee to me... 

Marcon

A gift's a gift. If he chooses to share, great. If not, let it go and move on.

REJP

No dilemma.
You gave it to him, he can do whatever he wants to with it.   He might feel he would like to give you some of any profits after deducting his costs in sending coins to buyers by insured post if they are buying direct from him.
Presumably there was no contract between you when you gave him the coins.
look at another thing which is common.   Parents buy newlyweds Premium Bonds in their name.  They are their bonds.  Only the holder's are entitled to collect winning.  They are not your bonds, therefore not your prizes.  You gifted the newlyweds the prizes.  Be happy for them.  If they win big and share large sums with family the recipients will pay income tax on everything over £3,000 in a year.  So if sharing keep below the tax limit.


There are different rules for grandparents giving as many £250 gifts each year as they wish.  My understanding is that they may give no more than a total of £3000 in the financial year with no tax burden.
check with your tax office.

in the event of the coins making huge money and brother giving sibling more than £3000 in a year it puts sibling into tax payments.   if this is a possibility invest some money getting financial advice.

Aberbud

You have him the collection so he doesn’t have to share his good fortune with you.   Have you asked him for a cut?  Maybe you’ll get lucky.   

Worny

No, you couldn't be bothered with the collection any more. You gave it away, therefore give away all links to possession of the collection. What if you had given it to someone other than your Brother? You wouldn't know where it was now! You never know, you Brother may just surprise you and share anyway!