u/kirayash

My father took a loan of around ₹12 lakh at 9% interest for house renovation. What frustrates me is that he has never been financially responsible or contributed much to the family's finances. He has never had a stable income, often lies about money, and a significant amount of whatever money he gets goes toward smoking and drinking.

We are a lower-middle-class family. I am currently unemployed, but during my previous job (₹6 LPA), I managed to save about ₹5 lakh. I invested ₹4.5 lakh in gold, and due to the increase in gold prices, it is now worth roughly ₹10 lakh.

My father does not know how much I earned, how much I saved, or that I own gold worth around ₹10 lakh. I have deliberately kept my finances private because I do not trust his financial judgment.

The loan is bothering me because paying 9% interest on ₹12 lakh means roughly ₹1 lakh per year is being lost to interest alone. At the same time, I am unsure whether it is my responsibility to solve a problem that I did not create.

Another important factor is that my father has inherited property from my grandfather worth approximately ₹50 lakh. My concern is that if the property is sold and he receives direct access to the money, there is a high chance he will spend a large portion of it irresponsibly. Based on his history, I have very little confidence that he would manage the proceeds wisely.

Given this situation, I see three possible options:

1. Sell some or all of my gold and use my own savings to clear the loan, even though the debt is not mine.

2. Encourage the sale of the inherited property and use part of the proceeds to clear the loan, while finding some way to protect the remaining money from being squandered.

3. Continue with the current loan payments and leave the situation unchanged.

If you were in my position, what would you do?

Would you use your own savings to clear a parent's debt, or would you insist that the debt be paid from assets they inherited?

I would especially appreciate advice from people who have dealt with financially irresponsible parents or similar family situations.

My father took a loan of around ₹12 lakh at 9% interest for house renovation. What frustrates me is that he has never been financially responsible or contributed much to the family's finances. He has never had a stable income, often lies about money, and a significant amount of whatever money he gets goes toward smoking and drinking.

We are a lower-middle-class family. I am currently unemployed, but during my previous job (₹6 LPA), I managed to save about ₹5 lakh. I invested ₹4.5 lakh in gold, and due to the increase in gold prices, it is now worth roughly ₹10 lakh.

My father does not know how much I earned, how much I saved, or that I own gold worth around ₹10 lakh. I have deliberately kept my finances private because I do not trust his financial judgment.

The loan is bothering me because paying 9% interest on ₹12 lakh means roughly ₹1 lakh per year is being lost to interest alone. At the same time, I am unsure whether it is my responsibility to solve a problem that I did not create.

Another important factor is that my father has inherited property from my grandfather worth approximately ₹50 lakh. My concern is that if the property is sold and he receives direct access to the money, there is a high chance he will spend a large portion of it irresponsibly. Based on his history, I have very little confidence that he would manage the proceeds wisely.

Given this situation, I see three possible options:

Sell some or all of my gold and use my own savings to clear the loan, even though the debt is not mine.

Encourage the sale of the inherited property and use part of the proceeds to clear the loan, while finding some way to protect the remaining money from being squandered.

Continue with the current loan payments and leave the situation unchanged.

If you were in my position, what would you do?

Would you use your own savings to clear a parent's debt, or would you insist that the debt be paid from assets they inherited?

I would especially appreciate advice from people who have dealt with financially irresponsible parents or similar family situations.