Hello,

I need some advice. My dad died when I was 4 years old. All these years I have been hearing from my Mom and my Dad's mother how my dad left me some money and when I turned 18 I would receive it. I honestly forgot about it. On my 18th birthday I was locked up. Anyways, Out of the blue today I get a phone call from my Dads mother asking for me and apparently She has been looking for me since I turned 18 and finally was able to get ahold of my number and contact me. She told me that she misses me and was worried that I died. I Talked to her, my aunt and my cousin. She told me that my dad left me some kind of policy like always and that she has been looking for me to get me to come get it. From what she told me its a little over 50,000 dollars. She can't withdraw or touch it. I am the only one who can get it. She says that they have been paying taxes on it every time it increases.

Now I need some advice. The first thing is I have never had this amount of money in my life. I am almost 19 and I get a SSI government check of about 700 dollars a month since I was a little kid. I have no clue what I will do with this type of money. I don't want to spend it foolishly of course. I want to make it last and make some kind of investment but I also don't want to be lame and put it all in investments, I want to spend some of it and get me a few things. I ask for some advice on this matter?

My second issue is that I am on Juvenile probation, In the state of maryland. I don't have any requirements other than seeing my Probation officer once a week for a piss test. I see her on Monday and I need to leave the state from MD to PA to get my money. I don't want to go up there grab my money and leave. I want to stay for a couple days and spend some time with my grandmother since I haven't seen her in almost 10 years. You think my Probation officer will allow this. After all it is technically Business .

As far as the small things I want to do with this money is buy a decent gaming pc, between 500-1,000 dollars. I spend all day and night on my pc as it is so I may as well get a good one that will last and won't lag so much when I play games. I want to get some cloths, I don't buy high priced name brand. I normally just buy Levi skinny jeans, Black t-shirts, girl socks and skate shoes. Maybe spend a couple hundred on cloths. Other than that, that is all I can think of as far as foolishly I may spend a couple hundred on a game I play to buy every weapon, Armor and booster.

Idk...At this time I am just in shock and so many things racing through my head and I don't know what to do!

My inexperienced advice:

• Write yourself a promise on a piece of paper and sign it (for yourself), saying that you won't spend more than X amount every year. Otherwise you might find your purchase of, 'just a few things' turns into 'quite alot of things'.
• Write a list of items you want, and budget yourself a firm limit. Choose the top 5 items you want, but don't get yourself everything. Without a limit on the number of items, and without a limit on the total amount, you'll fall for all the marketing ploys that are designed to deprive you of your money once you walk into a store (or once you start browsing an online store).
• If you don't know how to manage that kind of money, write yourself a second promise saying that you won't touch X amount until you are 25. By writing it down, you solidify the idea in your mind as a firm decision, rather than remaining indecisive.
• If you buy every single weapon, armor, and booster in your favorite game, you'll probably get bored of it, because then you'll be overpowered (or at least max powered) and the game will become uninteresting.
• Ask your probation officer, and get written permission to stay from date X, to date Y. Yes, leaving the state without your probation officer's (written) permission isn't a good idea.
• If any charities have assisted you in times of difficulty (Salvation army, a local food pantry, a rehab clinic), consider kicking them forward a small donation so they can continue to do what they do.
• Learn how to make your money work for you, to make you more money. Don't grab for any quick money scams. You won't double your money in anything less than two years, so don't fall for any fake money making schemes. Any promise of fast money, no matter how legitimate it seems, run from it.

I've never managed that high a sum myself. Consider getting financial advice from a professional. There might be some non-profit organizations that help with financial management for inner-city areas - it'd be worth looking into.

You mustn't take advice of random strangers on the internet (that means us). Seek out a financial advisor. Check out several of them, from reliable firms. You need to put most of it into investments for your future. And if you get into legal trouble again, you might have to spend it all on lawyers (you won't qualify for a free public defender).

With regard your legal situation and travel, I cannot speak to the exact specifics of your circumstances (each country/state having their own particular rules). However using myself as an example (I am a life sentence released on licence into society) travel arrangements should not be a real issue so long as you make some appropriate preparatory plans.

1) Obtain the contact details of your Grandmother (incl. address and phone number)

2) Make sure your Grandmother is willing to have you stay and will say so if contacted.

3) Define your dates of travel, where you will be staying and for how long.

4) If you do plan to travel by plane - it might be advisable to obtain a letter from your parole officer detailing that you have permission as well contact numbers. For use in case you pop a red flag at the airport. I would suggest booking flights during business hours and checking in early in case such issues do arise.

5) Optionally you can also offer to report into the local police station where your Grandmother resides as a way of reassuring the parole officer but this probably won't be necessary.

6) Do NOT simply go there without getting permission - that is the fastest way to f... up your life again. Gaining permission should not be that difficult.

7) If they do have further concerns, ask them to specify them so that you might provide a response in order to alleviate their concerns.

8) If they refuse permission...ask for it to be reviewed. If they still refuse permission you might then want to consult with a lawyer if you still wish to go -- there are some avenues that might be explorable such as a directed court order to the parole board. If you don't wish to go that route you might ask the parole board to define some hoops for you to jump through in order to be considered suitable enough to make the trip. Above all don't get frustrated - your money has not gone anywhere and won't go anywhere in the immediate future so time is not a pressure.

Best of luck.

Agreed with the above, if you want really solid financial advice you should seek out a professional rather than random advice online. It's quite likely you'll have to pay some tax on that amount, so even if you just wanted to blow the money on stuff all at once -- which I wouldn't advise -- it would benefit you to find out from a professional how much you're likely to be taxed so that you don't end up in debt.

That out of the way, here's my random advice on a few of your points and ideas:

I need to leave the state from MD to PA to get my money. I don't want to go up there grab my money and leave. I want to stay for a couple days and spend some time with my grandmother since I haven't seen her in almost 10 years. You think my Probation officer will allow this.

I know someone who can answer this for sure: your probation officer. Just explain the situation and ask her about it -- if you're able to get permission SoTL's suggestion of getting it in writing would be a good one. If you are for some reason unable to get permission, don't risk legal trouble by staying longer anyway -- you'll still be able to visit for up to 6 days (depending on method of travel), and you can always visit again another time now that you know your mother and family are there. It's not worth getting in legal trouble and potentially losing your newly acquired money just for a longer visit, and I'm sure your family will understand.

Taking a short break and/or getting yourself some things to enjoy for yourself is fine, and even sometimes a good idea when you come into some unexpected money, but don't fall into the mistake of thinking it will necessarily set you up for life. Even if it's more than you've ever had, and potentially more than you might have again, in the grand scheme of things $50,000 isn't a huge amount, and you'll still need to earn a living.

Some affordable clothes are probably a reasonable purchase to make -- if I might make a suggestion, it may be worth your while choosing some neat-casual clothes that would be suitable to wear in most work-places but could still be worn in less formal situations. Don't go over the top with it though -- SoTL's suggestion of setting yourself a limit in advance is a good one.

If you have any debts this may be a good opportunity to pay them off.

If your family have had to pay some fees or taxes to maintain the account or whatnot then it wouldn't be out of the question for them to ask that you perhaps cover some of those expenses. This is probably reasonable -- depending of course on their situation -- and if you're planning to establish a longer term relationship probably something you would consider obliging. Don't let them bleed you dry or give them more than a fair amount however; just because you're related by blood doesn't mean they necessarily have your best interests at heart, and while I'm not saying you should go into this distrusting them and expecting to be back-stabbed, a little caution would be well advised.

Everything SoTL suggested seems reasonable to me.

To reiterate my starting point and the advice of those above, you would probably be wise to seek professional advice.