Ask Amy: Sibling relationship affected by loan request
Dear Amy: I'm wondering if my brother, “Stan,” has written me off because I wouldn't loan him money.
In 2015, both of our parents passed away, several months apart.
Stan and I each inherited $20,000. I socked my money away in CDs. I don't know what Stan did with his inheritance.
He has always had a bad habit of asking female relatives for cash loans and then never repaying them.
About a year after my parents passed, Stan phoned me, asking if I would loan him $30,000. He never said what he wanted the money for.
I told him my money was tied up in certificates of deposit and I’d have to pay a penalty to withdraw the money. (I had no intention of sending him money, anyway, as he is such a bad risk.)
He sounded miffed and ended the phone call.
Since then, Stan never phones me. Before that last call asking for money, he would call me about once a month. Now if I don't call him, I never hear from him.
I make the effort to call him once or twice a year and he seems friendly enough, but it's always me making the effort to stay in touch.
Do you think my brother has written me off because I wouldn't lend him money?
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