Inheritance issues are a minefield for many families, since, inevitably, jealousy takes root and people’s greed ends up destroying relationships. After all, entitlement and a chance to actually own a home both might generate powerful emotions, enough to cause strife, conflict and drama.
A netizen asked the internet for advice after their daughter inherited a fortune from her aunt. This, as it turns out, sparked a wave of jealousy across her family, that, in the author’s own words, “seems to have destroyed my family.”
A rich relative passing sometimes ends up causing all sorts of arguments
So one netizen wondered what to do when their aunt left their daughter everything
An inheritance can really reveal what people think
Nothing reveals someone’s true colors like “free stuff,” particularly if it’s tied to family, expectations and entitlement. We’ve all encountered people who had it all, which might spark a pang of jealousy here and there, but ultimately most well adjusted people realize that it’s not their life or wealth.
But it’s a bit different when it comes to family. Money, property and assets both represent a better life, but also love and attention. We all have our favorites, but it’s rare to see it as clearly as when someone inherits it all and the rest are left with nothing. To be fair to this woman, she very graciously did share some of the money with everyone else, but people can’t help but compare.
After all, if you feel left out, it’s like a betrayal, not just a losing scratch card. Resentment is an ugly, but very powerful emotion at the end of the day. Now this aunt isn’t remembered for who she was, but, ultimately, for how her family reacted to her estate being divided (or not divided, in this case). There are always some cases where there might be legal grounds to “contest” a will, but this doesn’t seem like one of them.
This is particularly sad, since the aunt most likely just wanted to help out her niece. She was her favorite for a reason, even if we don’t exactly have more details. It’s also important to point out that the framing of this as “tearing this family apart” is unfair, the family chose greed and resentment, they did it to themselves.
Greed is a horrible but very common emotion
The details the author provides are perhaps telling, focusing on the daughter’s lifestyle, where she lives and what she does. This does have a hint of jealousy, even if the author is trying to keep it subdued. As many of the comments suggest, she was generous to hand out literally thousands of pounds to her relatives.
Regardless of inheritance, that is often how life turns out, someone gets or achieves more. In a large family, at some point someone might make a fortune or turn out to be very successful. Getting angry at them is exactly what “tears a family apart,” not the fact that they happened to get a lot more.
One can argue that the daughter didn’t “earn” it, but, arguably, neither did anyone else. This is not a hill worth dying on, but entitlement has blinded these folks. It’s important to see the bigger picture. If you can’t stand to be around someone who has things you want, look inwards. If you feel it’s worth cutting ties over this, then that is your choice, but do not claim that someone else “damaged” your family.
People were surprised at the families reaction
