Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-4830106-20140808001942/@comment-4830106-20140808014323

It definitely could explain why Winter isn't at Beacon (or even mentioned by name up to this point), although...

Perhaps Winter is the wayward child of the Schnee family. Because even though Weiss is classified as "a bit of a rebel" (and I'll admit, she has a lot of independence and personality for an aristocrat), maybe Winter is waaaay the hell out there. Meaning she's such a free spirit and such a tomboy (squee) that Mr. Schnee absolutely could not have her inheriting the estate. I had a similar idea a while back, only it was a brother instead.

--LEGEND OF KORRA SPOILERS AHOY-

This would basically be the same conflict between Lin and Suyin Beifong in the most recent season of Korra, only with the ages reversed.