Woman's dad says she'll inherit $409K in gold that he's hiding from his wife — but it's not in the will. 2 things The Ramsey Show says she must do

“There’s no legal writing on, like — it’s not even in my parents’ will,” Mary said about the gold coins. “My mom doesn’t even know that he has it.”

Mary called in seeking advice on what to do about the gold. But before tackling that subject, hosts Jade Warshaw and Rachel Cruze urged Mary and her family to get their estate sorted.

“I think you guys just need a lot of… more clarity around all of this,” said Cruze.

If you’re in a similar situation, here are two things Warshaw and Cruze recommend you do to save yourself from a financial headache later on.

Create a proper will — even if you don’t think you’ll need it

Warshaw and Cruze started by highlighting how important it is that Mary’s parents put a complete will in place.

“First and foremost, I would encourage them [Mary’s parents] to get a will,” said Cruze. “That way… when they pass, you have this document that helps get things through so much faster. It is miserable to be digging through everything when they’ve passed if they don’t have a will.”

According to a 2025 report from Caring.com, only 24% of Americans have a will and more than half of the survey participants said they didn’t have any sort of estate planning documents at all.

If you were to pass away intestate — the legal term for dying without a will — you don’t get to determine who your possessions go to, and the rules for what happens to your estate depend on where you live.

In this case, it appears that Mary’s father would prefer the gold go directly to her, to the point that he hasn’t even told Mary’s mother about its existence. Since he lives in Louisiana, Mary is in luck, as this state defaults to children inheriting a departed parent’s property. But that’s not universally true across every state.

If you don’t have a spouse or children, it can be hard to determine who your property will go to when you pass away without a will. If you don’t have a clear inheritor — such as a spouse, children or other relatives — the state might even become your inheritor.