Mom Of 5 Demands Her Relatives Give Her Some Of Their Inheritance After Her Share Was Split With Her Kids
You can't change what someone else put in their will.
fizkes | Shutterstock When someone leaves money behind, it’s up to them to decide who gets what. This can lead to contentious relationships between family members who were previously close.
One family found themselves in a state of upheaval after their grandparents’ will was revealed, and one of the cousins disagreed on how the money should be distributed.
A group of cousins disagreed on how their inheritance from their grandparents should be split.
A hurt and confused grandchild asked for advice on Reddit after their cousin got mad over their grandparents’ will.
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“My grandmother passed away recently,” they shared. “I was incredibly close with her, as was my little sister. My grandfather preceded her by about six months, and she was ready to go.”
“I have four cousins, but the focus of this story is on one of them. Let’s call her Eve,” they continued. “Eve has five children with four different fathers. My grandmother was never happy with Eve as her first child was born when Eve was just 15.”
When Eve’s grandparents’ will was read, chaos ensued.
“The estate lawyers, or whatever they’re called, the ones who were in charge of executing my grandparents’ will, called us and my parents, aunts, uncles, and my four cousins all [to] go to the reading of the will,” they stated.
“We all read it out and find out that my grandparents left their grandchildren, not their great-grandchildren, mind you, equal parts of their estate,” they explained. “In total, each grandchild got about $1.2 million in inheritance after taxes through stocks, land, etc.”
The same could not be said for Eve, however.
“Except for Eve,” they said. “My grandparents had, evidently, made it so that her share of the will was to be divided up between Eve and her children.”
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The cousin continued, “This did not go over well at all. Once the lawyers left, Eve stood up and demanded that the grandchildren pool their inheritances and split it evenly between both them and Eve’s kids.”
So, the cousins did the only thing they thought they could do. “I’m the only one who really stands up to her, and I plainly state that I won’t be giving her anything and that this was her problem, not ours,” they said.
The family began taking sides almost immediately, and it didn’t look good for this cousin.
“A few days later, I am being bombarded by Eve’s parents and her sister,” they wrote. “They’re saying that I should not deprive Eve of her rightful share of the inheritance just because she wanted to become a mother. That it wasn’t fair what my grandparents did and that this could set things right.”
“I’ve blocked them all, but Eve must be hounding my other cousins as well because they’re beginning to give in,” they said.
A will is ‘legally binding,’ so Eve would have to find a way to work around it to get her money in a different way.
According to law firm Benjamin R. Matthews and Associates, a will is a “legal document.” Therefore, it must be followed as it is laid out.
“But when it comes to estate planning, perhaps the most important legal document many people create is their last will and testament,” they said. “This is the legally binding document that clearly spells out their wishes after their death.”
Because of this, Eve could not simply have the will changed or have the money distributed in a different way than what her grandparents had stipulated.
Instead, she and her other cousins would likely have to accept the money given to them. Then, they could combine the money together again and split it in the way Eve wants so that she gets more money since hers was shared with her children.
While this may be possible, everyone in the family would have to agree on it. And, clearly, this cousin doesn’t.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.