Dad Planning to Give Late Wife's Heirloom to Adopted Daughter Sparks Fury

The internet has slammed a man who considered giving his late wife's family heirloom to his adopted daughter after his second wife pressured him to do so.

In a post shared on Reddit on Sunday, the father, who goes by the username u/Whention4548, explained that since his first wife, Kate, died 12 years ago, he remarried and adopted his new wife's daughter, Sarah, and has since lived as a family.

Everything had been going fine until his new wife asked him for a very unusual gift for her daughter's birthday.

The man explained that Kate's family has a family heirloom that has passed down several generations, starting from her great grandmother, from mothers to their first daughters, on their 18th birthdays.

He added that while the heirloom itself is not highly valuable in a financial sense, its history makes it very valuable to the people in Kate's family.

"I currently possess it after Kate passed away and I always intended to give it to my daughter, Claire, on her 18th birthday. She is currently 16." Claire is the daughter he shares with his late wife Kate, whom he also has a son with.

He wrote: "My wife asked me to give the heirloom to Sarah on her birthday to continue the tradition. I was hesitant because I always intended to give it to Claire who is Kate's only daughter as this is what she would have wanted and is the continuation of the tradition.

"My wife counters that this belongs to our family now and we should give it to our eldest daughter on her 18th birthday, and therefore this should be Sarah."

The father told his wife that while he considers Sarah to be his own daughter, she's not Kate's daughter, and the heirloom belongs to Kate, so it should go to her daughter.

"My wife said Claire is HER daughter, not anyone else's and wife accused me of playing favorites and told me that if I truly consider Sarah to be my daughter then I'll do the right thing for her or that I haven't really accepted Sarah as a real daughter yet."

The father then consulted his son who warned him not to take his mother's heirloom away from his sister, and that doing so would be a huge mistake with "severe consequences."

According to a poll conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Shinola, about 42 percent of Americans have a family heirloom that's over 50 years old.

The top items that Americans hope to inherit include engagement rings, pieces of jewelry, wedding rings, and wedding dresses.

The post has since attracted a lot of attention and has reached 12,200 upvotes and over 3,040 comments so far. Most users found the new wife's behavior insulting.

One user commented: "YTA for even considering it. Your wife is also an even bigger AH for pressuring you to do it. It belonged to Kate. It's you who adopted Sarah, Kate didn't. It should stay with Kate's children.

"Give it to Claire on her 18th birthday. I don't trust your wife around it. You should seriously consider giving it to your son (or ideally Kate's mother, if she's still alive) for safekeeping."

While a second said: "Yes if she [likes] the tradition then she needs to start up her own one to pass down. Even if she doesn't have something [from] her mothers, She can buy or personalize something of her choice to pass to her daughter and ask her to pass it down.

"She [can't] hijack another woman and family's heirloom from the rightful recipient. That's just disgusting and disgraceful"

Another user suggested: "It doesn't even have to be something from the wife. Op can find a gift for Sarah that shows how much he values and loves her that can become a new family heirloom to be passed down. And it can be done without stealing from Claire."

In the end, the father reassured the readers, saying he's "wised up" and Kate's heirloom "is going to Claire and Claire only."