Since her younger brother was born when she was six years old, Melanie* has always felt he was treated differently by their parents. Whereas she was shipped off to boarding school at the earliest possible opportunity, only coming home to visit twice a year, he attended a local school and lived at home until the age of 24.

Recently, Melanie and her brother were called to their parents house where they were told that they had changed how they were going to be distributing their inheritance after both of them eventually die. Instead of splitting it 50/50 between Melanie and her brother as they had previously planned, they announced they had decided to divide it into six parts, four parts for Melanie's brother (so include his partner and their twins), and two parts for Melanie and her only son.

For Melanie being told her inheritance had been drastically reduced, while her brother's had increased, felt like a huge slap in the face.

On hand to help is professional mediator and psychotherapist, Jessicca McGawley, who deals with emotionally charged family situations like Melanies' every day. Melanie and her brother clearly have very different relationships with their parents, but is it ever justified to treat siblings unequally when it comes to money and inheritances?

✍️ Need your awkward money problem solved? Email Katie on moneyconfidential@telegraph.co.uk or leave a voicenote on Whatsapp - 07892 793324. You can also fill in the form here: https://telegraph.co.uk/moneyconfidential. It can be 100% confidential!

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There are few more joyous occasions than the weddings of our nearest and dearest, but for one anonymous Telegraph reader, a friends' upcoming nuptials are giving her sleepless nights.

A close friend of 25 years has chosen to be a bride in Mauritius, and she's given our reader, who we'll call Ellie, the honour of being a bridesmaid. Though delighted to be asked, Ellie confesses to the Money Confidential podcast that she can't afford to attend the wedding, meaning she will have to decline the invite.

Ellie is desperate not to let her friend down, but at the same time she feels she needs to put herself first. She says the cost of going to the friend's wedding will delay her future plans to settle down, and at 31, she feels she doesn't have time to waste.

✍️ Need your awkward money problem solved? Email Katie on moneyconfidential@telegraph.co.uk or leave a voicenote on Whatsapp - 07892 793324. You can also fill in the form here: https://telegraph.co.uk/moneyconfidential. It can be 100% confidential!

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The wine is delicious, the food is perfectly cooked, the conversation is relaxed and flowing. Yet there is one thing, especially for us Brits, that can really turn the sweetness of a perfect evening with friends bitter: the awkward matter of who pays for what.

On this week's episode of Money Confidential, Katie hears from two listeners at opposite ends of the wealth spectrum, and with very different dilemmas: Maggie* is fed up of being rinsed, while Charles* no longer wants to be lavished.

✍️ Need your awkward money problem solved? Email Katie on moneyconfidential@telegraph.co.uk or leave a voicenote on Whatsapp - 07892 793324. You can also fill in the form here: https://telegraph.co.uk/moneyconfidential. It can be 100% confidential!

💰 Discover more of our leading Money journalism: telegraph.co.uk/money

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