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Women mourning at parents' funeral YuriArcursPeopleimages/Envato

My parents died and left us $2.7 million. My sister has addiction issues, and I’m worried what she’ll do with her half. What should I do?

Christy Bieber
Sep 27, 2026
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Addiction can wreak havoc on your finances. Not only are individuals struggling with addiction more likely to be unemployed, but they may also have costly health issues and make careless choices about their money if they can’t think with a clear head. And, of course, there’s the problem of spending on the substances themselves.

If you love someone who is an addict, it can be tough to watch them put their future at risk. It’s even tougher, though, if your parents passed away with substantial assets and you’re now worried about what will happen to the portion of this wealth your sister collects.

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Let’s say, for example, that Kara and Leah’s parents passed away with $2.7 million. Kara has struggled with substance abuse her entire life, so Leah is rightfully concerned about whether Kara can manage the money responsibly.

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So, the big question becomes: what can be done in this situation?

Leah needs to look at her parents’ estate plan

The first thing Leah must do is review her parents’ estate plan. Ideally, her parents will have left Kara’s money in a trust so it can be protected.

“When determining how to pass assets to beneficiaries, consider how a beneficiary will manage the money and whether that aligns with how you expect it to be used,” advised Shannon Stevens, managing director and head of office at Hightower Signature Wealth. “Tools such as trusts can help guide a beneficiary to manage the money in alignment with your goals and wishes.”

If Leah and Kara’s parents did create a trust, they would have named a trustee and should have provided instructions on when and how the assets could be used.

The trustee will be responsible for acting in the beneficiaries’ best interests and, depending on the guidance the parents left behind, may be able to use the money to support Kara by doing things like doling out small amounts at a time for appropriate expenses or paying for rent or a phone bill instead of providing cash that could be used for drugs or alcohol.

If the parents left the money to Kara directly, though, or if they died intestate and the assets were split between the daughters under the state’s intestacy laws, it’s going to be harder for Leah to step in.

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Leah still has some options even if her parents didn’t make a plan to protect Kara

If Kara inherited free and clear, the money is technically hers to do what she wants with it. But Leah has two last-ditch efforts she can try to hopefully protect the assets.

  • Propose a voluntary trust: If Kara acknowledges that she struggles with an addiction problem, she may be open to Leah helping protect her from herself. With Leah’s help, Kara may agree to put the money into a voluntary trust that will be managed by a third-party fiduciary. The trustee could receive specific instructions on when and how to distribute the money.
  • Explore guardianship or conservatorship: If Kara has been left legally incapacitated and unable to manage her own affairs, it’s possible that Leah might be able to convince the court to declare Kara incompetent. If this happened, then the court could appoint Leah or another trusted party to serve as guardian and manage the money, including making decisions about it, on Kara’s behalf.

While guardianship is an option, it would require very strong documentation that Kara is truly unable to manage her own affairs. And even if the court were convinced, the process is painful. As Luciano Oliveira, LLM, an estate planning and probate lawyer, told Moneywise about conservatorship, “it’s slow and expensive, and it takes away her rights, but it is available as a last-case resort.”

Ultimately, Leah will have to review her parents’ plans and hope they’ve already taken steps to protect the money. If they haven’t, she’ll have to decide how likely Kara is to waste the funds, whether Kara is willing to give up control, or whether Kara’s addiction has incapacitated her enough to get a guardian appointed.

Thinking about these issues will help Leah to identify the best way to help Kara make the most of her newfound wealth.

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Christy Bieber Freelance Writer

Christy Bieber has 15 years of experience as a personal finance and legal writer. She has written for many publications including Forbes, Kilplinger, CNN, WSJ, Credit Karma, Insurify and more.

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