Question 

My mother passed away a month ago. It was a long journey with cancer and then hospice. Mom subsequently died at home, which we are grateful for. 

What followed is us cleaning out her house. I feel that the three of us, siblings, did a nice job of sorting and clearing out. We did not argue about anything. All of her household items were either claimed by one of us, donated, or sold. 

Now I am in the process of putting away my pile of items from mom that I have. In that process I came across a ring that I could not place. Since I am the only girl, my brothers decided that I should have the jewelry. There was nothing of significance, so I was fine sorting through it. 

The ring has been puzzling me, so one day when I was out shopping, I stopped by the family jewelry store and had them take a look at the ring. They told me it holds a two-carat diamond worth about $25,000. I am in shock and wonder where it came from. My parents were working class people with little excess. 

Now I wonder what to do. My brothers said I should take the jewelry. Would it be wrong to keep or sell the ring? The boys did not want it. Now that it is cleaned up, it is rather impressive. 

Answer 

I do understand that you were given mom’s jewelry in the process of cleaning out the house. The thing is, that decision was made with the understanding that the jewelry held little value. That has not turned out to be the case. 

When going through the household of someone who has passed away, it is not unusual to uncover some interesting items. Most of the time they are novel and of little value other than being sentimental. The children sort out the items, and everyone takes some things that are special to them. What remains is usually sold or donated. 

What happened here is that you and your brothers assumed that her jewelry was all costume and of no real value. That has not turned out to be the case. It is wonderful that you figured it out before tossing the ring or giving it away. 

This situation requires you to circle back with your brothers to tell them what you found in your mother’s jewelry box. Let them know that you took it to a jeweler and had the value determined. Whoever is the executor of the estate needs to be told, and how this ring is distributed to the heirs is the responsibility of him or her to manage per the will. 

If the ring were of nominal value, say a cubic zirconia stone or other stone, no one would care if you kept it to wear. Keeping a two-carat diamond ring quite different and it is not right, unless your mother’s will designated that it was to be yours. 

Now is the time to let the executor know so that the ring can be dealt with before the estate closes. As exciting as it is to make this find, you do need to give the ring to the executor. It could be a legal problem in the future if you just hold on to it, and it is simply not the right thing to do.