Person Demanding Inheritance Back From Parents Before Meeting Kids Cheered

Many families have their problems; some can be sorted overnight, while others may take weeks, months or even years. In this instance, one Reddit user has decided to cut ties with their parents after discovering what they did with their inheritance money.

The post titled, “AITAH [am I the a******] for telling my parents they could be a part of my kid’s lives if they gave me my inheritance,” has racked up more than 21,000 upvotes in just two days. In total, the original poster u/Round_Back5083 was supposed to receive $270,000, but their parents invested most of it, and the risk didn’t pay off.

“They stole my future just for my father’s ego to show he could turn a profit investing like my grandfather had,” the poster wrote, adding that the inheritance could have paid for their education.

The age at which a person can legally inherit money depends on the type of inheritance and the state laws governing the inheritance; in this case, the poster wasn’t allowed any of the money until they turned 18. So, when that day came, there was just $27,000 left. The poster’s older sister and cousins were of legal age at the time so now live “debt-free and own their own homes,” the Reddit user wrote. “My parents also lost a bunch of money that had been left to my mom.

“I have cut my parents out of my life. They were not invited to my wedding and they have not met my kids.”

The poster is willing to introduce the parents to their only grandchildren on one condition; they must replace the money… with interest.

“I would forgive them and allow them to meet my kids,” the poster wrote. “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. I asked them how much they would have if my idiot father didn’t think he knew better than my grandfather?”

Legal Advice

Matthew Erskine, who is the managing partner at law firm Erskine & Erskine, based in from Worcester, Massachusetts, told Newsweek what the poster must do to “successfully sue and reclaim assets from the parents.”

Erskine said: “The child must demonstrate the existence of a fiduciary relationship with them. This could occur if, for instance, the estates of the grandparents underwent probate and the parents were appointed as conservators for the child. In such a case, they would be obligated to fulfill a fiduciary duty to the child, accounting for their management of the inheritance once the child turns 18.

“Alternatively, a fiduciary relationship might be established if the circumstances suggest that the grandparents’ gift implicitly created a trust, with the parents acting as trustees for the child’s benefit. Proving this, however, is challenging, and the requisite level of evidence varies by state,” Erskine added.

“If the grandparents simply transferred assets to the parents with the informal wish that they, in turn, pass these assets to the child upon reaching adulthood, no formal trust is established. Consequently, the child would have no legal basis to claim the assets.”

Reddit Reacts

So far, the post shared on August 20 has racked up more than 2,700 comments.

One user said: “People need to put protections and lock on money they leave for grandkids so this s*** doesn’t happen. I’m a cynic so I’m always cautious. Don’t matter if it’s my son/daughters kids. I’m leaving it for them. Only they are touching it. Tell your sister to leave her opinions to herself since she got what she was left. You got what was left over.”

“Your sister was lucky. So your parents decided, instead of using all of their hard earned money to invest in some extremely risky investments, they used your money to gamble. They should repay you with interests,” added another.

A third user posted: “Funny how dad ‘knew better’ with OPs [original poster’s] money, but not his retirement fund. Dude was gambling, but not with his own nest egg. That’s the galling part.”

Newsweek reached out to u/Round_Back5083 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.

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