She inherited some gold bracelets from her mother and she did not pay zakaah on them
Question

                I inherited some bracelets from my mother, and I do not think that my mother paid zakaah on them all her life. Now I have started to seek knowledge, and I need money to buy books etc. Please note that my husband spends on us and provides food, drink and clothing, but he regards these matters as secondary and does not give me the money that I need for that. 

Is it permissible for me to sell these bracelets and spend the money on seeking knowledge, whilst making a promise that if Allaah blesses me with wealth I will give some money to pay off the zakaah on these bracelets?  Or do I have to sell them and pay the zakaah on them? Can I spend some of it on things other than seeking knowledge, or can I only use the money for seeking knowledge?.
Praise be to Allah.Firstly: 
    Zakaah is not due on gold unless it reaches the nisaab (minimum threshold), 
    which is 85 grams. 
If these 
    bracelets reach the nisaab, or your mother had other gold that when added to 
    the bracelets reached the nisaab, then zakaah is due on them. If it does not 
    reach the nisaab then no zakaah is due.  
Secondly: 
    The scholars differed as to whether zakaah is due on gold that is prepared 
    for use (jewellery). In the answer to question no.
    19901 we have stated that the 
    more correct view is that zakaah is due on it. 
If your 
    mother did not pay zakaah on these bracelets all her life, because she asked 
    someone who told her that it was not obligatory to pay zakaah on them, or 
    because she did not know that it was obligatory to pay zakaah on them, then 
    you do not have to pay zakaah for past years. But if she knew that zakaah 
    was due on them but she did not pay it out of negligence, then you have to 
    pay the zakaah that she did not pay in past years, because it is a duty that 
    is owed to Allaah. 
Shaykh Ibn 
    ‘Uthaymeen was asked about a woman who did not know that it is obligatory to 
    pay zakaah on jewellery until recently. Should she pay zakaah for past 
    years? 
He replied: 
    What I think is that she does not have to pay zakaah for the past, because 
    the custom in this country and what is usually stated by the Shaykhs is the 
    well known view of Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him), and the well 
    known view of Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him) is that there is no 
    zakaah on jewellery that is prepared to be worn or lent. Based on this, she 
    does not have to pay zakaah for the past, but she has to pay zakaah for the 
    year in which she came to know that zakaah is to be paid on jewellery, and 
    for future years, because the correct view that is supported by the evidence 
    is that zakaah is due on jewellery, even if it is used. And Allaah is the 
    Source of strength. 
Majmoo’ 
    Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (18/142) 
He was also 
    asked about a woman who has owned some jewellery for four years; should she 
    pay zakaah for the past years or not? 
He replied: 
The correct 
    scholarly view is that it is obligatory to pay zakaah on jewellery if it 
    reaches the nisaab.
    As for her question: does she have to pay zakaah on the past years? 
The answer 
    is that if she believed that it was obligatory to pay it, this is regarded 
    as negligence on her part, so she has to repent to Allaah and pay zakaah for 
    the time that has passed. If she did not believe that it was obligatory to 
    pay zakaah on it, either because she did not know that or because she was 
    uncertain because of the difference of opinion among the scholars concerning 
    that, then she found out that zakaah is obligatory, then she must pay zakaah 
    for the year in which she came to believe that zakaah is due on jewellery. 
    End quote. 
Fataawa 
    Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (18/146) 
Thirdly: In 
    the event that you do not have to pay zakaah on these bracelets, then they 
    are your property and you may dispose of them however you wish. You can sell 
    them and spend the money on seeking knowledge and on other things. In the 
    event that you do have to pay zakaah on them, then you must pay it 
    immediately and it is not permissible for you to delay it. So either pay the 
    zakaah from wealth other than these bracelets if you have other wealth, or 
    sell them and pay the zakaah from the price, and the rest of the money will 
    be yours to spend as you wish. 
Fourthly: 
    You should have hastened to pay the zakaah before the estate was divided, 
    because zakaah is regarded as a debt, and the scholars are unanimously 
    agreed that paying off debts should be done before the estate is divided. 
    See question no 21271. 
As you 
    divided the estate before paying the zakaah, the zakaah is divided among all 
    the heirs and each of you must pay part of it, according to his share of the 
    estate. If one of you voluntarily pays all of it, that will suffice and he 
    will have done good. 
Conclusion: 
If you know 
    that your mother did not pay zakaah on these bracelets because she did not 
    know that it was obligatory to pay zakaah on them, or she followed a scholar 
    who said that jewellery is not subject to zakaah, then you do not have to 
    pay zakaah on them. But if you know that she did not pay zakaah out of 
    negligence although she knew that it is obligatory, then you must pay the 
    zakaah.