AITA for not carrying on my late grandfather’s support even though I received his inheritance ?
A Redditor shares her dilemma after inheriting her late grandfather’s assets, including several properties and a modest allowance he’d been giving to extended family members.
She’s decided to halt the financial support and evict relatives from the properties, as she doesn’t feel obligated to continue her grandfather’s commitments to people she barely knows. Now, facing backlash from her relatives, she wonders if she’s doing the right thing. Read the original story below.
‘ AITA for not carrying on my late grandfather’s support even though I received his inheritance ?’
Not in the US. My (21f) grandfather recently passed and left me all his assets. My mother was his only child and when my parents passed in a car accident when I was 17 he became my guardian. I was studying in a boarding school, so there was no big change to my living arrangement.
I spent one summer with him before going to university. The last time I saw him was this new year. The thing is, my grandfather has never been close to my family. He and my grandmother were never married and my mom grew up with grandmother.
He did attend big events in her life, like graduation and wedding and my birth, but I saw him for like a week every couple of years. My mother knew very little about her paternal family except that grandfather had 2 half siblings she had met a few times in her life. I have never met any of them.
My grandfather left behind some properties and money. When I looked into it, he has been letting some children of his nieces and nephews stay for roughly $100 a month in his places. He had also set up his bank account to deposit a relatively small amount of money every month to a few older family members.
I asked my lawyer to take care of evicting these people and stop the monthly allowance. The extended family now reach out to me, claiming that grandfather has promised he would help them out until they are back on their feet and that as I received his inheritance, it is only right I carry on his intention.
They asked me for another year and then they will not seek my support anymore. I know these people are my relatives by blood, but I don’t know them nor do I want the hassle of waiting a year for their convenience. I am not struggling financially as I have full scholarship, my parents’ assets and life insurance money, and am studying in a field that will lead to a relatively well paying job. AITA for cutting the support?
See what others had to share with OP:
BBQQuails − NTA. That he didn’t specify in his will that you keep taking care of these people financially after his d**th means he leaves everything up to you. Just make sure to check with your lawyer that these people will not create troubles for you.
Dittoheadforever − I-n-f-o- any idea how long he had been subsidizing those people? The extended family now reach out to me, claiming that grandfather has promised he would help them out until they are back on their feet… They asked me for another year.
That’s why I want to know how it has been. *One more year* can turn into a plea for another, then another, and so on pretty easily. It would be interesting to hear how long they have been *trying* to get on their feet. and then they will not seek my support anymore.. I find that hard to believe.
as I received his inheritance, it is only right I carry on his intention. He had a chance to include them in the will. Maybe this was his way of cutting off the gravy train without being the bad guy. I lean towards NTA because he did leave you the money and never asked you to keep subsidizing his relatives.
RulerOfNyaNyaLand − YTA for giving zero notice to tenants, relatives or not. They may not have been there for very long or maybe they had been there a while and had a chance to save up a little money (if you cared, you could have checked the bank records for how far back they paid the rent) but moving out is a hassle, it’s expensive, and without time to look around for a new place, it can leave some homeless.
I think it’s mean you didn’t give them any grace period at all. You could have easily extended the courtesy of a six month lease and let them all know there would not be an extension so they should prepare accordingly. Your grandfather obviously did intend to help them, and he left you a windfall you don’t need desperately or immediately.
It would be gracious to honor his wishes a little. Considering all the above, immediately evicting them seems greedy and very uncharitable, given that it wouldn’t have affected you at all, and it’s likely to create a terrible hardship for them.
catboogers − YTA only for jumping straight to eviction. Sending them a notice of non-renewal or giving them a timeline to find new housing would’ve been better. Having an eviction in your past can make it so much harder to find housing.
You can do with the property what you want, sure, and you have no obligation to let them stay at a severely under market rent for years and years, but I’m surprised that eviction right off the bat would even be legal. Tenants have rights.
Thoughtsinturmoil − YTA. Not for not being okay continuing the financial support but for how you’re going about it and your unbelievable callousness.
Yeah. They’re gonna need some time to be able to move out. And what happens to you elderly relatives now? Perhaps you can at least make yourself informed about what’s going on and how this will impact them.
Are we talking sick 90-year olds that won’t be able to afford rent or food now? I would wish such a thing would be relevant, especially since it will impact you zero to give them a grace period. You can make whatever decision you want regarding that, no matter the answers of course. Your money. But you could give people some time to find homes and/or other help.. Such an AH attitude.
gorgonalias − NAH whatever you choose. But if it’s about the inconvenience of being tied to these people for a year rather than the money itself, just give the older ones a single lump sum rather than regular payments for the next year and offer the younger ones cash in exchange for moving out amicably within a couple of months.
Schmergenheimer − YTA for the manner in which you’re going about it. Jumping straight to, “he’s dead; GTFO,” while it might be legal, is still an a**hole move. You said yourself you don’t *need* the money, so give them a chance (six months or so) to get weaned off.
You can diminish the allowance over that period to get them used to not having the extra cash. Make it clear you won’t be extending the nearly-free past the initial grace period, and at that point, they would be the assholes for staying.
EscapeAny2828 − YTA. This sub will rule N T A. But you are a greedy a**hole
Doctor_Lodewel − Do you have the right to stop it all so quickly? In my country, no judge would allow an immediate eviction with this arrangement. Six months to a year would almost always be allowed for the tenants to find a new place.
[Reddit User] − NTA. If he wanted these people to keep receiving support, he could have easily set it up like that. That’s YOUR money, and you don’t owe them a thing.
Do you think it’s fair for the user to cut off the extended family’s support now that she’s inherited her grandfather’s assets, or should she consider honoring his arrangements? How would you handle this complex family situation? Share your thoughts below!
