Your sister is very lucky in her family.

Oh yes, she's drawn first prize in the lottery of life having me as a brother *grin*

More seriously, with my mother's will now executed, she was able to consider getting out of the hole that her guy had left her in.

Short story - they'd bought a house together, each paying half. She'd put her cash down for her half, he'd taken out a mortgage on his side. Then when the relationship went south, she discovered he'd not been making his payments, and they had joint liability. Negative equity, lawyers, in the end she took what she could get rather than the lawyers getting it all.

So she'd found somewhere in the area she wants to live, close to the sea, close to her work, just a little bit more than her savings and the inheritance put together. Since I'd also got the same amount (as a decent sized managed share portfolio, mind) it was actually quite easy for me to ask my stockbroker for the cash to lend it to her.

('My stockbroker'. Oh god, shoot me now. Seriously, he came down from Liverpool the other day to come see me. You know you're in a different world when they come to you rather than vice versa.)

In the short term, her bills will be less by the amount she no longer has to pay as rent, which leaves her able to pay us back over the next couple of years. After that, she's definitely better off.

Now I'm even more convinced your sister is fortunate in her family - and what a wretched situation to find herself in before that.

You will surely be forgiven your stockbroker when lending her a helping hand is accounted in the balance.

best to both :-)

I'm a little surprised to be honest - it's the right thing to do, and the only cost to me is effectively a bit of delay in receiving the full amount. Were we short it might be harder, but actually this year we're splashing out a bit.

(A holiday in HK - I'm counting it against a 60th birthday present. And an anniversary present. And an Xmas present.)

Chichester's not south of the river, it's west of the river. ("The river" is now the Medway.)

Thames, dear lad, Thames. We've not gone native.

(Though in my sister's case, the adjacent bits of water are all called 'creek' or 'channel'.)