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Since her younger brother was born when she was six, Melanie* has always felt like her parents treated him differently. While she was sent to boarding school as soon as possible and only returned home to visit twice a year, he attended a local school and lived at home until he was 24.

While Melanie’s relationship with her parents has long been distant, meaning she feels like a guest in their house when she returns home, her brother is extremely close to them. he told our Money Confidential podcast.

Melanie says that these circumstances made her very independent, but made her brother very spoiled. He apparently depends on his parents for childcare, adds to their vacations so they can pay for him and his family, and often leaves his children at home during school holidays so he and his wife They can take a break.

As a single mother working full-time, this has left Melanie feeling, perhaps understandably, quite bitter. She admits that she sometimes struggles financially, but especially without the emotional support of her family or partner.

Recently, Melanie and her brother were called to their parents’ house where they were told that they had changed their ways. distributing his inheritance after they both finally die.

Instead of splitting it 50/50 between Melanie and her brother as they had previously planned, they announced that they had decided to split it into six parts, four parts for Melanie’s brother (including his partner and their twins) and two parts for Melanie. and his only son.

For Melanie, when she was told that her inheritance had been drastically reduced, while his brother’s had increased, It felt like a big slap in the face.

She says her brother joked that it was a reward for staying home and working on their marriage while having more children, but Melanie didn’t see the funny side. To her, the decision seems incredibly unfair and crystallizes the unequal way she and her brother have been treated throughout their lives.

Melanie feels like she doesn’t want to accept her parents’ decision, but says she doesn’t know how to broach the subject with them without seeming ungrateful. However, if she doesn’t keep the conversation going and lets the bad feelings fester, he fears it will push them further apart.

Helping is professional mediator and psychotherapist Jessicca McGawley, who deals with emotionally charged family situations like Melanie’s every day. Melanie and her brother clearly have very different relationships with their parents, but is it ever justified to treat siblings unequally when it comes to money and inheritances?

I’d be interested to know: do you feel like your parents treated you unfairly when it came to money? Or are you a parent who has given one child more than another, and if so, what were your reasons?

Could you give some friendly advice to Melanie on how to handle her dilemma?

You can reply to me in the comments below or send me an email or voice note to [email protected] with your thoughts. I would love to hear from you.

I’m also looking for people to appear in future episodes, so if you have something to get off your chest or need some advice, send me your money dilemma by filling out my contact form below.

*Names have been changed.