Single Dad Refuses To Share The Money He Won With His Children's 'Unreliable' Mother Despite Her Saying She'll Use It For The Kids
He claimed that she's irresponsible when it comes to spending money he gives her for their kids.
MAYA LAB | Shutterstock A single dad admitted that he doesn't want to "enable" the irresponsible behavior of his ex and the mother of his children after she requested he give her a portion of the money he just came into.
Posting to the subreddit r/AITAH, the 32-year-old dad of two questioned whether he was wrong for excluding her from benefiting from the amount of money he recently won.
He refused to share the large sum of money he won with his children's 'unreliable' mother.
In his Reddit post, he explained that he and his ex have two children together, ages 6 and 8. The two of them split up around three years ago because she wasn't contributing financially and otherwise to their household. Now, as a single dad, he's been the primary caregiver and financial provider for their kids. However, he recently ended up coming into quite a lot of money.
"Last week, I placed a bet on baseball, and to my surprise, I won a significant amount of money — enough to make a real difference in our lives. Naturally, I was over the moon and immediately started planning how to use the money to better our living situation and set aside some for the kids’ future," he revealed.
It didn't take long before his ex learned of his winnings and now she's demanding that he give her a portion of it. She argued that since the two of them have children together, she deserved to have some of the money to help out with their needs.
Despite that being a valid request, he pointed out that in the past, she was unreliable when it came to contributing to their kids' upbringing.
He explained that she couldn't consistently keep a job and never seemed to spend the little money she earned on their kids but rather on herself. He's worried that if he gives in and allows her to have some of the money he won, it won't benefit their kids at all, and she'll just indulge in her own personal expenses.
"I’ve already set aside a portion of the money for the kids’ needs and future, but I feel like giving her a direct share is enabling her irresponsible behavior," he added. "Should I be sharing this windfall with her because we share children, or am I justified in keeping the money and ensuring it’s used responsibly for the kids?"
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If he's truly worried about his ex spending the money that he got from winning, then he doesn't have to give her any, especially if he doesn't trust her.
When it comes to their kids' financial needs, he can continue being the sole provider. According to his ex, he can either ask for a list or volunteer to get anything that their kids need instead of having to use her as a middle ground with the money.
People in the comments agreed that he's not unreasonable for being on the fence about giving his ex money.
"She’s not your wife; she’s the mother of your children. Therefore she isn’t entitled to anything for herself, only for what you can provide to the children you created with her," one Reddit user pointed out.
Another user added, "You’re not obligated to share your money with your ex regardless of the circumstances (unless, of course, those circumstances involve court-ordered payments of some kind). Just because you share children doesn’t mean she’s entitled to a percentage of your money, regardless of how you came into that money."
"Setting aside some of the money for the kids is great, and that should be enough. She doesn’t need some of the money, especially since you say you’re the primary caregiver," a third user agreed.
All that matters is that their children are being taken care of, and remain unaware of any animosity that may linger between their parents because, at the end of the day, parents must leave their personal business and grievances with each other outside of their interactions and care for their children.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.