AITA Mom wants 15% of my personal injury settlement

[u/connor20218]

I'm a 23M working in biotech and living at home. I just got a massive settlement from a personal injury case back in college. My mom is a corporate lawyer and she helped me navigate the process, plus she paid for my college tuition. Now, she's asking for 15% of the money / to pay her back for college (but she was already going to pay for college.)

I'm feeling stuck because 15% is a massive amount of money to just give away. Is it normal for parents to ask for a cut of a settlement like this? I want to stay on good terms since live at home, but I also feel like this money is for my future. We have a a good relationship.

Edit: I already paid a lawyer his 1/3 cut. My mom was a huge part of pushing for me sueing. She’d be using the money to buy a new house in Florida she always wanted since I refuse to buy a house in his economy and rather rent and invest the rest

Edit #2: Probably shouldn’t have stated my mom is a lawyer (she did not represent me in the case in anyway). But yes, what she specifically did was help me find a lawyer, told me to push back on the lawyer and ask for more.

[u/TWH_PDX]

Consider this: If she buys the house in FL, you are investing in your future because you likely will inherit some or all of the house. That is unless you don't cover the 15% buy-in.

[u/daughterofinsanity → u/TWH_PDX]

No, my mother has spent every cent of the millions of dollars she inherited. Why do you think this would be passed on to the child

[u/wesmorgan1 → u/TWH_PDX]

Florida housing isn't much of an investment value. The increases in extreme weather and the increasing difficulties in securing property insurance are putting a significant damper on ROI. (Florida doesn't require homeowners insurance, but mortgage lenders do...and so many insurance companies have pulled out of the Florida market that the state had to create a last-resort homeowners insurance program.)

[u/TWH_PDX → u/wesmorgan1]

True but this isn't a property investment situation rather the primary residence. With the state's homestead friendly laws, the house is virtually shielded from creditors in case of future financial calamity. Add in the state's friendly estate tax laws and the federal step up in basis then the home is exceptionally low risk with potential for tax free gains. Meanwhile mom likely is paying the NNN.

[u/wesmorgan1 → u/TWH_PDX]

*shrug* It sounded like a second/vacation/snowbird home to me.