My ex left me the majority of his estate(amounts to $700000). His parents demand that I leave it to his wife and child.?

A Redditor recently shared a complex and emotional story involving their late ex and the inheritance they received from him. After being together for nearly two decades and breaking up due to infidelity, they were surprised to learn that their ex had left them the majority of his estate following his tragic passing.

His wife and parents now demand that the estate be handed over to them, leading to a difficult dilemma for the Redditor. In the post, they reflect on their complicated history and the ex’s final wishes.

Read the original story below to dive deeper into the situation.

‘ My ex left me the majority of his estate(amounts to $700000). His parents demand that I leave it to his wife and child.?’

My ex and I were together for almost 20 years. We never got married because it never felt necessary and we were child free. I had problems with BC so he chose vasectomy. I found out that he cheated on me 3 years ago and I left him.

He got with his AP. 6 months later I heard that they were married. I found out that I was pregnant with my current bf a year into dating and even though we still weren’t “there” in the relationship, we thought that we could make it happen and sure enough we are very happy and we love our little family very much.

My ex kept texting me on occasions like birthdays and holidays(I never answered ) but when he heard about my daughter he sent me a lengthy and hurtful text about me cheating on him and he never texted me again(I never answered).

A few months later my ex ended his life. This was about 4 months ago. His wife is apparently giving birth anytime now. I was surprised. I was contacted by a solicitor to tell me that I have inherited my ex’s estate.

He had left everything to me besides some to his parents pension and his nephew. I got a letter from him apologizing for what he did and saying that he loved me and wished me and my family happiness and he wanted to help with that.

Now his wife and parents are very angry and demand that I leave them everything. I don’t know. Wibtah if I kept it because that is what I want actually. And what he wanted

Here’s what people had to say to OP:

Icy-Ad-7767 −  1. Hire a lawyer. 2. Get lawyer to take care of the details. 3. Don’t spend this money as any and all moneys from the estate to them should have been taken care of by probate but they may contest the will. 4. You are not obligated to give any of that money back unless ordered by the court.

[Reddit User] −  Flip the script, they would give you nothing. Up to you if you want to keep it or ration it out. People get really weird about inheritance money and will actively destroy their own families over jealousy and the such.

[Reddit User] −  NTA. His current wife cheated on him and he knew. That’s why he left everything to you. Block all of them and go NC. It’s a gift and it’s yours to keep. DO NOT give them anything.

Effective_While_8487 −  NTA.A gift freely given is yours to keep.

Global_Reference_746 −  Damn. All my exes just gave me trauma and tears. Alright mister big.

noreplyatall817 −  Take the money, his current wife had an affair to have a kid.

Dubya8228 −  You need to talk to an attorney. The wife and her child may have a legal claim to his estate.
You need to get your ducks in a row.

Typical_Agency8984 −  NTA- it’s yours to keep.. Also, is that child even his?

Trailsya −  Not sure what country you are in, but in my country a spouse and children would always inherit quite a substantial part, no matter what was in the will.. NTA

You are not the one making this decision, it was him. No need for them to blame you. Them being angry with you, would make me less likely to do what they wanted, than them coming to you in a more cordial way.

doughy1882 −  Little anecdote (NAL). My wife was beneficiary of a life insurance policy her then partner took out. He died in an accident, leaving behind an ex-wife (ex for 5+ years) and 2 kids (u18) who were left nothing. His wealthy parents support the ex-wife an kids. My wife received £50k which paid off her mortgage.

She offered the ex-wife £25k but the ex instead sued my wife for the full £50k. Although the ex-wife won in court, the judge only gave her £10k and rebuked her for not accepting the first offer.

The judge did not award costs, leaving us to believe that the ex’s solicitors received most of that £10k.
We had to pay her £10k and pay our legal fees of £16k.

Do you think the Redditor is justified in keeping the inheritance given the past relationship and the late ex’s wishes, or should they give it up to the wife and parents?How would you navigate the complexities of such an inheritance in a similar situation?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!