Dear Scott,
I am a single divorcee, recently retired at 70 with about $650,000 in super after selling my inner-city house and relocating to the far north coast of NSW. My son is 37 and absolutely passionate about his chosen career as a chef, at which he is excelling. He used to talk about opening his own restaurant, but this hasn’t been mentioned for a while.
My ex-brother-in-law (a real estate agent) is trying to convince me to go into partnership with my son in a restaurant by gifting/loaning him $100,000 out of my super, saying that we will both make a motza. But I am really concerned about this for several reasons: Firstly, I’m pretty sure it would take a lot more than that to open a new restaurant! Secondly, my son and I are in a good place now (after some rocky times) and I don’t want to spoil that with the possible stresses of a business partnership. Lastly, I want to spend time travelling, and I don’t feel that I can afford to lose that $100,000 if things were to go pear-shaped.
I trust my son with the money and I know absolutely that he would do his best, but I also know that hospitality is not all roses at any time. Am I being reasonable or simply overcautious?
Cautious mum
Hi Cautious Mum
You’re doing me out of a job!
Literally, I couldn’t have answered your question any better than you just did.
Do not doubt yourself … you are 100% right.
The only thing I’d add is to remind your ex-brother-in-law that he’s an EX for a reason – and to butt out of your business!
Scott.