Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTAdrian VolenikThu, September 3, 2026 at 6:11 PM GMT+2 6 min readBenzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.When money and family mix, it can be hard to know where generosity ends and being taken advantage of begins. For Julie in Houston, a $5,000 payment to her father over an inherited house became the latest example of what she described as a troubling pattern.Julie told "The Ramsey Show" that her father inherited a house from her great-aunt and agreed to sell it to her. The property had a Medicaid lien, so Julie gave him $5,000 upfront to get it removed. He cleared the lien, but then decided he could make more money selling the house to someone else.Don't Miss:There's More Than One Way To Put Cash To Work. Some Accredited Investors Are Looking Beyond Savings Accounts.Investors With $1M+ Often Use Advisors for Tax Strategy — This Tool Matches You With One in Minutes'You're Putting Sugar on Top of a Crocodile'Julie said she expected the money back if her father wasn't going through with their agreement. But she also admitted this wasn't the first time money had caused problems between them."We're very generous with him and he loves our generosity," she said, mentioning previous expenses they had covered for him.Personal finance personality Dave Ramsey quickly pushed back on that description. "You're putting sugar on top of a crocodile," he said, arguing that Julie's father had learned he could take advantage of her.Ramsey also said Julie should never have paid the $5,000 upfront. He explained that the lien could have been paid from the proceeds at closing, with her father receiving the remaining money afterward.Still, Julie's bigger concern wasn't the house. She was struggling with how to set boundaries while continuing to honor her father.Ramsey used former President Joe Biden to explain the distinction. "I agreed with almost nothing that Joe Biden did or said when he was the president of the United States," he said. However, Ramsey said his faith called on him to honor the presidency even when he disagreed with the person holding the office.Trending: Think Your IRA Is Limited To Stocks? Many Eligible Investors Are Exploring Alternative Assets Instead.He said Julie could approach her relationship with her father similarly. She could honor him as her dad while also saying, "I cannot do financial transactions with you anymore because I can't trust you."'Go See a Therapist'Julie was also worried about what would happen after her father sold the house. He has no savings, she said, and she expects him to eventually spend the proceeds and turn to her again.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info