Advice on investing large sum of money/Paying off debts (pay, taxes)

[mizzlea]

My mother sold her house abroad for $100K USD. She has received about half of that so far and has entrusted me with the money but I'm not entirely sure what I should do with it. I have plenty of debt of which $4k is credit card debt, 14K is a car note, and about $50K in student loans. She told me that I could use some of the money to pay off some of my debt. I'm still not sure what the best use of this money would be. I will probably deposit it in my savings for now. I was thinking of using at least part of the money to invest in a Roth IRA. I figure we'd take a tax hit now but we could still have access to it if there was an emergency but the money could still be invested for a future large purchase, perhaps a home. I do have one sibling who is also entitled to this money but he doesn't know about it because he is younger and very irresponsible. But I am kind of clueless myself which is why I'm asking strangers for advice.
Sidenote- does any one know if/how this sale would affect our taxes? And when I go into the bank/brokerage firm to deposit this check, would they give me hard time and make me explain in detail where I got this money from? If I do deposit it into one institution and then decide to move it, are there large fees that could result from that

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by mizzlea

My mother sold her house abroad for $100K USD.

What is your mothers US legal status? Does she have a SS#?
If not in the US now... will she be coming here anytime soon?

She told me that I could use some of the money to pay off some of my debt.

Ask her for a specific amount for that. In writing.
Also ask her for a specific amount In writing for any intended for your sibling(s)

The LAST thing to do is deposit this money into YOUR account.
You at least need some sort of custodial account (with real paperwork).

Otherwise... I'll say to contact an attorney for more specific information.

[arrieros81]

did your mom actually give you the money, or is she just expecting you to hold it for her in a US bank until she returns?