What to do with large sum of cash money?

[disneysteve]

But she is NOT laundering money!

OP never answered the question of whether or not his mother properly reported this income and paid taxes on it. If she did, no problem. There is no law against holding cash and no law against depositing it. I agree with contacting the bank to let them know and find out if there is anything special she should do.

If, however, she never reported this money, then she needs to contact her tax professional and find out how to handle the situation, amend her previous returns, pay the taxes and penalties due and move forward.

Personally, I think spending it is the simpler option all around.

[Gemini9981]

Hi Steve and everyone else,

I am sorry I have not been on here for a while, been pretty busy lately. I really appreciate all your advice. I don't know the details of how much of the money taxes were paid on. All I have been told is that her accountant was not good and was not deducting her business expenses appropriately, so she now has a new one. I have not actually seen her previous tax returns or anything. I will pass the information on to her and hope she will make the right decisions and correct any errors from the past. I hope I can convince her to start an IRA with $6,000. Although the last time I mentioned it to her, she did not like the idea even though I told her it would not be taxed, showed her mine had increased in value, and told her it could be in a safe investment like a money market. Thanks again!