Dave Ramsey Pushes Back on Christian Parents Who Want to Tie Inheritance to Obedience

Originally published Nov. 20, 2024. Updated Oct. 26, 2026.

A Christian father and his wife were filling out inheritance paperwork when they hit a question they could not settle. Should his 24-year-old daughter from a previous marriage inherit anything if she is not living according to the Bible when they die? He called “The Ramsey Show” for a tiebreaker. Below are Dave Ramsey’s and cohost John Delony’s answers in their own words, how Ramsey’s own family trust treats a child who walks away from God, and what Scripture says about disinheriting a child.

“We want to make sure she’s living according to the Bible and doing the things that we expect her to, and my wife says that if she’s not there doing that yet when we should pass…we shouldn’t give her the inheritance,” said the man, according to a clip the show posted Nov. 3, 2024.

The father explained that he and his wife have two boys under the age of two and a daughter, from his previous marriage, who is 24.

“And I’m like, well, maybe we should give her a chance to get there,” said the father, “and then she could…have part of the inheritance.”

Dave Ramsey: The Inheritance ‘Is Not a Stick’

Dave Ramsey is a Christian personal finance expert who founded Ramsey Solutions, is known for his Financial Peace University course, and has authored a number of books, including “The Total Money Makeover.” Ramsey is also known for hosting “The Ramsey Show,” where people call in for financial advice. Ramsey’s website says that, thanks to the experts Ramsey has added as cohosts, the show now “covers every spoke of life from career to mental health to family and relationships.”

The man who called Ramsey said he had heard Ramsey “put stipulations” and say that, when it comes to making wills, “[children] have to live a certain way and be a certain way.”

“We’re God-fearing Christians,” said the caller, explaining that he and his wife disagree about what to do about his daughter, “so we need a tiebreaker. We need some wisdom on this.” The man added that their decision about the daughter would also apply to “our boys, so we’re just torn on how we should handle that.”

“You have the information correct,” Ramsey told the man. “You have the spirit wrong behind what we did. What we did was not a punishment thing. It was not a carrot or a stick thing.”

Ramsey said that he and his wife, Sharon, made it clear to their children that the Ramseys view all of their assets as responsibilities from God. “Our job is to manage his stuff his way for him,” said Ramsey. “So the kids have no rights. And what we explained to them was, if they inherit something, all they’re inheriting is the right to manage it. They don’t become the owner any more than I’m the owner.”

Ramsey compared the situation to being like the expectation that a manager at Burger King will follow “the Burger King manual” instead of running the restaurant like a McDonald’s.

“When they do inherit [my wealth], all they do inherit is the weight of it and not the privilege of it,” Ramsey said. He acknowledged that receiving the inheritance is a privilege, but “if you view it properly, it’s a responsibility rather than, ‘I hit the lotto.’”

Jesus asked who would trust someone with true riches after that person proved untrustworthy with worldly wealth or with someone else’s property (Luke 16:11-12). Paul wrote that stewards must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). Pastors who teach that God owns it all will recognize Ramsey’s frame.

Ramsey said the caller should not view the inheritance as a way of threatening the daughter if she doesn’t behave. Another point the financial guru made, which Ramsey said was difficult for him because he is “extremely loyal” to the people he loves, was that “if someone’s misbehaving and you give them money, you magnify their misbehavior.”

“Absolutely,” the caller agreed. An “extreme” example Ramsey gave was that of a person addicted to heroin. Giving that person $1 million will “kill them because they’ll overdose.”

“So you magnify their problem,” he said. “You don’t help it by throwing money on it, whatever the problem is.”

Ramsey noted he does not know how the caller’s daughter is behaving but encouraged a “manager or a stewardship perspective,” adding, “that’s the way I would talk to her about it.” The caller should be clear to his daughter that he loves her but also that he “can’t in good conscience leave [her] managing God’s stuff when [she’s] not following God. [You] have to report back to him.”

The caller agreed that Ramsey was coming at the topic with a “different spirit” from simply threatening the daughter over her bad behavior.