Choices on who gets what in a will can be extremely tough and can even sometimes cause tension within families.
A woman has asked Reddit to ask for some opinions on the AITA thread (which stands for am I the a** hole?) on her step mother's reaction.
In a nutshell, her father left almost all of his estate to his daughter, and her step mum is pretty angry about it.
Her family life was a rollercoaster, and the woman explained that she felt she was alone because of her dad's drug addiction.
She said: “My older half sister (different dads) was not a pleasant person to be around and my mom was so busy working I felt like I was really alone.
“When my mom died in 2011 my grandma took me in and things got a lot better. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my mom every day, but my grandma provided a much healthier environment for me.”
In 2018 her father contacted the woman's grandma to let her know he had stage five prostate cancer, but the woman wanted nothing to do with him.
She continued: “Long story short, he died six months ago, I only found out recently because my 'stepmother' contacted me about inheritance.
“My dad had left everything to me. It’s not a life changing amount, I’m still going to college for the same degree, just debt free, I’m still planning on buying the same house, and investment properties, just with smaller loans.
“It will improve my life so much, but I’m still going to work and do the same thing I was gonna do before.”
There’s a plot twist though, it turned out that her dad's wife had planned on never working again.
“She had quit her job when she moved in with my dad and hasn’t worked in six years. She was telling me that it would be wrong to keep all of the money.
“Especially since I never made up with him, and that I needed to split it four ways so that she and my 'siblings' could have an equal share.”
The woman refused and argued that her father had abandoned her for years and his wife only got the best parts of him.
She continued: “I contacted the lawyer and everything is cut and dry. He left his wife and step kids $100 each and left everything else to me, but I’m starting to feel bad for his wife.
Would I be the a**hole if I didn’t split the money? I mean my dad never did anything for me, so this last grand gesture is really all I’ll have.”
The woman later edited the thread to explain that her step family were still living in the house even though they weren’t on the title.
She said: “I’m planning on hiring a property management company and writing up an official lease.
“I don’t want to make them homeless and I’m not planning on selling the house right away but I don’t want to make any mistakes and lose the house by having her live in it.”
So, what did the internet think? Was the woman right or wrong for her decision not to split the inheritance?
Here’s a Reddit key for reference:
You're the a**hole (& the other party is not) - YTA
You're not the a**hole (& the other party is) - NTA
Everyone sucks here - ESH
No a**holes here - NAH
Not enough info - INFO
One Reddit user responded: “100% NTA. Your Dad made the decision to leave absolutely everything to you, so he clearly felt you deserved it/needed it and they didn't.
“Feels to me like he was thinking along the same lines as you, realizing he'd short-changed you on a relationship, so all he could do was leave you an inheritance.”
Another said: “NTA. She didn't have to quit. She is a grown woman. Don't split it with people who wouldn't give you the time of day otherwise. I think your dad knew what he was doing so respect his wishes.
“And you aren't being a cruel person, you are letting them stay in the house and aren't making them homeless. Just make sure you do everything by the book and use the money to better your life.”
Some even suspected a secret rift between the pair, which is why he didn’t leave much at all to his wife.
Reddit user Quicksilver1964” said: “NTA. He had a good reason why he gave you everything and left them only 100 dollars. Seriously. There is a reason she is not telling.”
Do you agree with these comments, or do you think the woman was in the wrong for her decision?
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