Mom-to-Be Wanting Money From Dead Ex's Family Without Paternity Test Slated

A sibling has been praised online for refusing to help her late brother's girlfriend until she takes a paternity test.

In a viral post shared on Reddit's Am I The A**hole group, which can be seen here, user Tired-Bookkeeper-954 explained her brother Drew recently died.

She added that Drew had struggled with addiction and despite having tried rehab, therapy and support groups, he died from an overdose.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 91,799 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2020.

It added that opioids are currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths and were involved in 68,630 fatalities that year.

The Reddit user in her post explained a woman named Zara claimed to be pregnant with Drew's baby. "I already recognized Zara, she was Drew's ex-girlfriend from high school. Zara said she just found out she was around 10 weeks pregnant and that she was really struggling for money and could become homeless very soon, and asked if me or my parents could help her out.

"After doing my research, I told Zara that she needs to do a paternity test first. Even though Drew is gone, the test can be done with our dad's DNA. I said I'd pay for the paternity test.

"Zara got offended and upset and said she thinks I'm horrid for calling her a liar. She sent me a voice message of her crying which I thought was a bit out of the blue.

"I told Zara she can either take the test or not but we aren't giving her any financial help until she takes the test."

The post has attracted 5,600 upvotes as well as some 577 comments.

Most of those who commented praised the sibling for being firm with Zara but also noted that she did not need to take the test.

One Reddit user, whose comment was upvoted some 10,000 times, said: "NTA [not the asshole]. Generally, a refusal to take a paternity test made with crying and accusations of calling the other person a 'liar' means that the test will come out negative.

"If this is really your brother's child, Zara should have no problem submitting to the test."

Another commented: "Okay, I agree with the NTA verdict, but saying that if it's really OP's [original poster's] brother's child then Zara should have no problem submitting to the test reads a lot like 'people who haven't done anything wrong have nothing to worry about from the police.'

"Zara is perfectly within her rights to say no to the test. She is not within her rights to cry and be manipulative when OP says no test equals no financial help, which is OP's right to do.

"She is perfectly within her rights to say no to the test, but OP is NTA for requesting or requiring one."

A third posted: "She's within her rights to say no to the test, just like OP and OPs family is within theirs to not give money or resources to someone who is making an assertion that they are unwilling to confirm (with a paternity test)."

Newsweek has contacted Tired-Bookkeeper-954 for comment.

To learn more about treatment for all types of substance use disorder, see FindTreatment.gov or call the national helpline of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on 1-800-662-HELP (4357).