The top 10 Money Moral Dilemmas of 2025

A few years ago, my father gave me £30,000 to help pay off my mortgage. My sister agreed with the arrangement, and I signed a piece of paper to say that I'd received it. My dad's now died and, once probate is granted, my sister wants an extra £15,000, or half of the £30,000 he gave me, because she feels she's owed it. But my dad didn't sign the piece of paper or add a codicil to his will about it, so my solicitor says my sister has no legal right to it. She doesn't need the money, but I do. Do I give it to her?

A recent fire caused damage to my property and my neighbour's house. The damage to my place was small, which is a blessing, as I don't have home insurance. My neighbour's place suffered about £300 of damage, which is around the same amount as their insurance policy's excess, so they've asked me to pay them back for the repair costs. The fire was an accident, and I've been told that, legally, I don't have to pay them anything, but should I?

I bought our family home from my father, who - before he died - said he wanted my stepmother to live in the three-bed property for the rest of her days. My stepmother, who I'm friendly with but not close to, is retired and lives there rent-free (I live and work abroad or else stay with my fiancé). I pay for home insurance, boiler servicing and any repairs, and I'm responsible for maintenance and upkeep, and my stepmother is quite insistent when she wants things done. I want to honour my father's wishes, but am I being naive letting her live there at my expense, when instead I could generate income by renting the house out?

Since she was born, our four-year-old has been given money by friends and family on birthdays etc. She now has a few grand saved up in a bank account we opened for her. Recently, we've signed her up to some extracurricular activities she wants to try - gymnastics, swimming, drama and Scouts. The cost mounts up, so would it be fair to charge them to her account, rather than our own?

My two children are planning to move back home after they graduate. I've decided I'm going to charge them the going rate for renting rooms in the area. They'll get perks - laundry, Wi-Fi, cooked meals - and space to work out their next step in life. They're refusing to pay, but I think if I don't charge, I'm doing them more harm than good - life isn't free and you have to pay for what you want out of it. How do I change their minds?

Our neighbour runs a business buying and selling online. He gets deliveries every day and when he's out, we take them in. Yet he never comes and picks them up, so I always end up taking them over. When we're out, he takes in parcels for us, but never drops them round. The last delivery for him was four big parcels that sat by our door all weekend, waiting for me to take them over. Should I tell him that if he wants to keep using our house as a delivery depot for his business, he's going to have to pay us?

I'm buying a house with my boyfriend, which will be the first property I own. But I won't get first-time buyers' relief on the Stamp Duty, as my boyfriend already owns a property, so we'll have to pay an extra £5,000 in tax. Should I pay half of it, as half of the house we're buying will be mine, or should he pay the whole cost, as his circumstances are the reason we have to pay it?

I don't have children, but my brother has three. I send birthday cards with money in for the children every year. I very rarely get a 'thank you' from any of them and I'm lucky if I get a birthday card from my brother, while my partner of 10 years never gets one. My partner doesn't mind and always says I should be the better person when I ask why I bother. Should I keep sending my brother's children cards and money even though they don't thank me?

We saved for our son's university education in a Child Trust Fund, which is now worth over £100,000. He turns 18 later this year, but he's recently stopped studying for his A-levels, hasn't applied to any universities and says he wants to take some time off. He's currently unaware of these savings, but we're now worried that when he is able to access the cash, he'll fritter it away. Should we tell him and try to influence his decision-making before he turns 18, or should we keep him in the dark for as long as possible to try and protect the money until he's mature enough to use it wisely?

My mum picks my son up from school three days a week, as his dad and I work full-time. On the other two days, we pay for him to go to an after-school club. My mum has just booked a two-week holiday in June, which means we'll have to pay for an extra six days at the after-school club while she's away. Should we ask her for a contribution towards the cost? Or should we just be grateful that she picks him up at all, and not say anything?