A Reddit user shared their heartbreaking story on r/TIFU about their sister's death and the subsequent legal battle they were facing with their parents.
After she passed away, the woman left everything to her sibling, including her home, money, and other assets. However, their parents were unaware of their daughter's investments and tried to sell the house without their second child's consent.
When confronted, the parents were shocked to find out that they were not entitled to anything and decided to sue their own child.
This person discovered that their sister had accumulated quite a fair amount of savings before she passed away
Image credits: LightFieldStudios (not the actual photo)
But they quickly found themselves in a legal battle with their parents over her inheritance
Image credits: DragonImages (not the actual photo)
Image credits: AmnajKhetsamtip (not the actual photo)
After the story went viral, its author released an update on the situation
Image credits: TIFUwhyyyyyyymeeeeee
Sadly, stories like this where greed corrupts a family are not uncommon
According to Giambrone & Partners, an international law firm with over 15 years of experience, it's not uncommon for a family dispute to arise after the death of its member if someone is left out of the will and others inherit.
If the deceased dies intestate (no will has been made), the laws of succession apply, and the deceased's spouse will inherit automatically, or if there is no spouse, any children will inherit equally. There may be a relative who assisted or was close to the deceased who does not benefit from the estate and believes that the deceased would have made them a benefactor had they made a will.
But the key takeaway is that family dynamics are now far more variable than what they used to be in the past, and this can create a great deal of stress. "Relatives fall out and become estranged, after a will has been written," Giambrone & Partners wrote. "This can cause disputes between those who inherited and those who feel that they should have inherited if the deceased did not update their will."
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
There are several reasons why people may challenge a will
"A will may be contested on the ground that the deceased did not have the required mental capacity to draft a will, by reason of mental illness or a progressive neurological illness such as dementia," Giambrone & Partners said. "However, sound medical evidence must be produced and verified to support the challenge."
"Another reason based on the mental capacity of the deceased may be that they did not understand the content of the will and that they agreed to something the implications of which they did not fully grasp. This may be the case if the deceased was very elderly or spoke a different language [than] the language in which the will was written."
In some cases, a forgery or fraud may is suspected, and one party accuses another of fabricating the will of the deceased.
In others, a will may be contested if rectification is necessary, when a will has a clerical error that needs to be corrected in order for the actual bequests intended by the deceased to be carried out.
But one of the leading reasons for contesting a will is the claim that the deceased was subject to undue influence by another person, for example, if the deceased was placed under pressure to leave their money to a person through coercion.
So by the sound of it, the Redditor's parents didn't even have enough grounds to take things to court.
Image credits: Alexander Mils (not the actual photo)
Parents do not talk enough with their kids about money
Families can limit the number of conflicts they have about money by developing an open relationship and facilitating talks on the subject.
In fact, most of us appreciate the importance of discussing money. Nearly all of the 2014 Stress in America survey respondents (95 percent) said parents should talk to their kids about money. But only 64 percent reported they themselves were taught how to manage their budget, and just 37 percent said they often talk with their family members about the matter.
Yet, experts claim that helping kids become financially literate is more important than ever before. Previous generations could count on pensions and social security benefits to sustain them after retirement. Now, however, individuals must start planning—and saving for— decades in advance.
While it's impressive that the late woman managed to acquire her wealth fairly young, it's sad that her family started fighting over it.
The post also sparked a discussion on greed and entitlement in families, and some people even made suggestions on how the original poster (OP) should proceed
