DEAR ABBY: My mother and I are super close. I consider her my best friend. My brother, not so much. He ignores my texts and calls, and I know of any news about him only via our mom. My parents divorced when we were very young. When my father passed recently, he left me a decent-sized inheritance, and my brother $500.00. (They were estranged.) I took the inheritance and the equity in my house, bought a new one, and need to finance only a small amount to remodel.

Mom doesn’t understand why I didn’t share my inheritance with my brother and says she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. I am excited about my upcoming move and the furniture shopping and remodeling. It’s killing me that I can’t talk to my best friend about it. I tried explaining that giving money to my brother would be taken out of my loan, which I would have to repay with interest. She doesn’t want to hear it. Can you give me some advice? — MISSING MY BESTIE IN ARIZONA

DEAR MISSING: You were not obligated to share your inheritance with your brother. If your dad had wanted his estranged son to have the money, he would have left him more. Your excitement and wanting to share all the details about buying and decorating your new home is understandable, but because your mom prefers you keep them to yourself, abide by her wishes. She may be your “best friend,” but she is also your brother’s mother and is entitled to her opinion about the inheritance money. It is OK for the two of you to disagree about this.

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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.