There is something about the concept of inheritance that makes people lose their minds.
Money! That’s it, it’s money that’s the root of all evil here. Or the root of any other concept of objective morality.
Most don’t really expect family to become so possessive when it comes to someone getting an inheritance that is proportionately larger than what was given to other family members. It doesn’t have to be greed—mayhaps just good old rivalry or something along those lines—but it hits in the chest all the same.
A Redditor recently shared their conundrum of being a benefactor of a sizable inheritance, and how their mother and stepfather were quick to start dividing all that money up.
More Info: Reddit
Folks can do a lot of things if an inheritance is involved, and that's all because it's that cold hard cash that makes people lose their wits
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)
So, Reddit user u/MoreRyres is a 16-year-old teen who lost his dad when he was a baby, and has just recently lost his aunt. For most of his life, he had a stepfather, who brought a 15-year-old daughter from another relationship into this family (OP’s stepsister) and had 3 more kids with OP’s mom, ages 10, 9 and 7 as of the post.
The aunt, and the family on dad’s side in general, have always been involved in OP’s life. She would often tell him how he was just like his dad, who she thought was the best man she knew, and that he would be very proud of him. Needless to say, OP was very close with her.
One teen recently shared a story of how his inheritance led to a pretty intense conflict with his parents who insisted he share it with his 4 other siblings
Image credits: MoreRyres
After her passing, he became a huge benefactor in her will, and the bulk of everything was effectively his now, but accessible only through the grandparents (assuming this is up to a certain age when he will get it directly).
This in turn caught his mother’s and his stepfather’s eye. They were annoyed that none of the other kids among the 5 got anything in the will, and OP explained that that was to be expected. He was the only one directly related to his dad’s side of the family, and from their perspective, all of the other 4 kids were effectively stepkids. That’s not to say they were completely excluded—they were included in some stuff, but not to an inheritance degree.
The inheritance was from the teen's aunt, and he was the only one of the 5 directly related to her as it was her late brother that was his father
Image credits: MoreRyres
So, in light of all of this, the mother had an idea for OP to split the inheritance equally among all the siblings. Her reasoning was that everyone would benefit from this, and the grandparents would allow OP access to the money.
The stepdad threw his two cents in by saying that if OP refuses, the other siblings will realize OP and his dad’s side of the family hate them, making OP the bad guy and the stepsister the good guy in this situation (despite her dislike of her siblings as well).
The mom and stepdad insisted he share the inheritance as it would be beneficial for everyone, whereas the teen wanted to respect the aunt's wishes
Image credits: MoreRyres
OP’s stance, however, is that the aunt meant the inheritance for him, so it should stay in his possession. The mother protested against it, saying he’s hogging more than he’ll ever need, refusing to think of their futures.
He also added in a subsequent edit that the grandparents already know of these events, and they are the only ones who have access to the inheritance as the aunt has set it up that way. So, the money is safe.
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
And what started off as wondering whether OP’s wrong to refuse ended up in a thread of support from the internet. Many of the commenters suggested moving in with the grandparents, or getting anyone else from the dad’s side of the family involved to avoid any other shenanigans that might come from the parents.
It was a clear NTA as commenters expressed their words of support, suggesting to get dad's side of the family involved just in case
Image credits: Brett Sayles (not the actual photo)
Others added that the inheritance was meant for OP, and that’s how it should stay. If anything, it would mean respecting the aunt’s wishes because this whole gesture alone shows just how much she loved her nephew.
The post got some modest attention from the Reddit community, garnering nearly 3,000 upvotes (97% positive) as well as getting hundreds of supportive comments. You can check it all out on Reddit here.
But before that, don’t forget to upvote this article and to comment your thoughts and share your stories in the comment section below! And if you don’t feel like it, then maybe you’d like more malicious compliance in your life?
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