What would you do with loads of money?

Picture the scene:

You were always fond of your elderly uncle, although he only had that status by being the husband of your aunt, who died several years ago. He lived into old age, spending his final years in a care home, but eventually he died - well into his 90s.

Your uncle and aunt did not have children of their own, so they only had nephews and nieces to whom to leave their money. You had long thought that the cost of living in a care home for more than ten years would have drained your uncle's resources, so you were not expecting your share of his estate - split between six nephews and nieces - to be all that large.

However, when the cheque arrived in the post you realized that your uncle had had considerably more wealth than you had imagined. You were now richer to the tune of £200,000!

That might sound like fantasy, but it does actually happen - and it has happened recently to somebody I know. They are at a loss as to what to do with the money, and I would be in the same situation if it happened to me - which is highly unlikely due to complete lack of elderly uncles living in care homes!

There are various options - go wild and buy expensive things like cars and jewelry, travel round the world, or invest it wisely and gather the interest. I saw recently that a group of three barren, rocky islands off the north coast of Scotland are up for sale - for exactly £200,000!

Or one could be generous to one's own family and give them a helping hand - see a son or daughter through college, for example.

One could give the bulk of it away to charity and help thousands of people indirectly.

What would you do in such circumstances? It would be interesting to know!