Adult Daughter Tells Her Parents They Can Only Meet Her Children If They Return The Inheritance They ‘Stole’ — ‘They Stole My Future Just For My Father's Ego’
“They stole my future just for my father’s ego.”
Anneke Schram | CanvaPro After finding out her $274K inheritance fund from her grandfather was “stolen” by her parents, an adult daughter and mom said she had no choice but to cut them out of her life completely.
Not only did they steal her and her family’s chance at a comfortable, financially secure, and debt-free life, but they refused to pay her back despite having the funds to do so. “[My grandparents] left me an inheritance that would have paid for my education and helped me get started in life,” she wrote in a Reddit post. “If my parents had left it alone, I would be in a good place.”
Now that she’s started a family of her own, she was clear about where her parents stood in her life — nowhere near her or her kids.
An adult daughter shared on Reddit that her parents will never meet her children unless they return the inheritance they ‘stole’ from her.
“My dad decided that he could do better than the account my grandfather left my money in,” she wrote in her Reddit post, revealing that her parents pulled the inheritance money out of the investment fund. “I got $27,000 when I was old enough to get my money. That was about 10% of what everyone else got.”
simonkr | Canva Pro
Not only did they lose her money by trying to invest it differently, but they also allegedly lost almost the entirety of the money left to her mother.
However, the other siblings and cousins, who were 18 years old at the time, were able to keep all of their nearly $300K inheritance.
“I have cut my parents out of my life. They were not invited to my wedding, and they have not met my kids,” she wrote. “My sister is child-free, so I have their only grandchildren.”
After her grandfather passed away when she was still a minor, her parents re-invested the money he’d left for her and ‘lost’ 90% of it.
Especially now that she’s had a child, her parents continuously ask her to be a part of her life, hoping to meet their grandchild and rebuild a relationship with their adult daughter. However, she has no interest in getting to know them again — unless they're willing to pay back the money they stole and lost.
“I said that if they replaced my money with interest, I would forgive them,” she wrote, “and allow them to meet my kids. They say that I'm being ridiculous and that the amount of money I'm asking for would put a huge dent in their retirement fund.”
DNY59 | CanvaPro
Of course, as many commenters pointed out, it seems like the only reason they have a retirement fund at all is because of their irresponsible investing of their daughter’s money. Some even thought they didn’t lose any of their daughter's money but instead spent it.
“It has been years, obviously, and I'm still [mad] that they stole my future just for my father's ego…to show he could turn a profit investing like my grandfather had.”
With everyone else in her family living debt-free, the adult daughter is understandably resentful and only willing to forgive her parents if they pay her back the money with interest.
Considering other cousins and her older siblings could claim their inheritance when her grandfather passed away, she can’t help but feel resentful that they’re all living debt free, financially stable lives now. “My sister thinks I’m being mean. I told her that she could give me her money if she didn’t think it was a factor.”
“They blew that money, and they owe it to you,” one commenter wrote. “It wasn't left to them. It was left to you. You are not being mean. You're being logical and realistic …This is a hill to die on. ‘Family’ is a stupid reason to keep or allow abusive people in your life.”
Whether they took the money for themselves or lost it from irresponsible investing, it was still hers to begin with. Without all her grandfather's estate details, it’s unclear whether legal action could help her reclaim it. In most instances, an inheritance left to a minor without specific instructions in the will is subject to state law, meaning depending on where they live, her parents may have had every right to accept and manage the money on her behalf.
From a moral standpoint, however, she’s valid in holding them accountable in whatever way she chooses to.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories