It’s difficult when a child is left with an inheritance because they typically have very little control over it. While this is done to ensure the money is protected until the child comes of age, it can sometimes give too much power to the adults in their lives.
One teenager found himself in this unfortunate position when his dad tried to control what happened to the inheritance left by his mom. Now, sadly, the family structure may be irreparably harmed over money the dad had no business touching.
A 16-year-old said he would never forgive his father after he used his inheritance money.
An anonymous teenager took to Reddit to ask if he was in the wrong after telling his dad he hated him for what he did with his inheritance.
“My mom died when I … was seven,” he explained. “She left me an inheritance that my dad was put in charge of. The money was supposed to be for my future and nobody was supposed to touch it unless I really needed it and it was pretty specific.”
“My dad got married again when I was 10, and he has an eight-year-old stepdaughter and now a four-year-old daughter with his wife ‘Louise,’” he said.
The teen’s father used his inheritance on non-life-threatening medical treatments for his half-sister.
“My half-sister was diagnosed with a rare condition when she was two. It was always clear something was wrong but they had a really hard time figuring out what it was,” the teen continued. “Doctors would say she’d be fine when she was older.”
“This condition isn’t life-threatening, like she won’t die from it, but it could potentially leave her permanently disabled in a bad way,” he stated. “A few months ago they found out about this hard-to-get-into treatment for it. But it was expensive.”
So, naturally, this boy’s father thought he had the perfect solution.
“So my dad decided he would use the inheritance mom left me to pay for it,” he said. “He tried asking me but he was going to do it anyway and when I said no he told me as much.”
“I told my dad I would never forgive him if he took the money,” he admitted. “He told me I’d understand when I’m older.”
Tima Miroshnichenko | Pexels
Everything got more complicated when the teen’s grandparents got involved.
“I told my grandparents what dad did,” he said. “They’re my mom’s parents but had stayed friendly with dad and there were times they would help him.”
He continued, “That all stopped when I told them. Dad couldn’t figure out why until he confronted them about it last week. They told him he had some nerve stealing from me, taking their daughter’s money and spending it on his child.”
“He asked how I could be so heartless and selfish,” he stated. “I told him I would never forget what he did.”
Commenters wondered if this boy’s grandparents could help him pursue legal recourse.
Other Redditors thought that the grandparents sounded like the perfect kind of people to help this teen.
“Would it be possible for you to go live with your maternal grandparents and get away from your dad and his second family?” one person asked.
Another said, “You might want to ask your grandparents if they can consult a lawyer with you to find out what your legal remedies are since they did literally steal from you.”
This teen could take legal action against his dad.
If he chose to pursue that path, this boy could certainly hold his father accountable legally.
According to SmartAsset, “People who commit inheritance theft, whether it’s an executor, trustee, beneficiary or someone else, may be subject to both criminal and civil penalties.”
Mikhail Nilov | Pexels
“Talking with an experienced estate planning attorney can help you determine if you have standing and grounds to file a claim for inheritance theft,” they added.
While it would be difficult to sue your own dad, this teenager would be perfectly within his right to do so. And, given what has happened, he just might want to.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
