By Palak Mahajan and Kim Gale ( July 30, 2026, 11:32 AM EDT) -- In 2009, a mother transfers $150,000 to her eldest son so he can close on his first house. Nothing is signed. She mentions to a neighbour that he will pay her back “when he is on his feet.” She tells the son it is “his share, early.” Meanwhile, her daughter gives up an apartment and a job in another city, moves into the family home and spends 11 years caring for her mother, on the strength of an assurance repeated over many Sunday dinners: the house will be yours. The mother dies in 2024. Her will divides the estate equally among her three children....