'Selfish' Woman Cheered for Not Splitting Inheritance With Step-Siblings

A woman has received overwhelming online support for refusing to split her inheritance, despite her mom requesting that it be shared with her adoptive siblings.

The 20-year-old woman shared in a post that her father died when she was eight and her mom remarried two years later, blending four kids into the family, who she eventually adopted.

She added that the adopted siblings were treated better than her, and she ended up being a "troubled teen." At 14, she was pregnant and kicked out of the house.

"My aunt and maternal grandfather were in my corner for everything. Especially my aunt. I consider her my mom and her kids my siblings. Everything I wished my mom had done for me, my aunt has and more. Her kids consider me their sibling and vice versa. She even had a college fund put to the side for me, which I'm on track of graduating from nursing school in the next year," the daughter shared to popular Subreddit "Am I the A**hole."

Her aunt served in the military, but left to help her niece, the poster, once she had a child. All the while, she continued to encourage the niece to rebuild a relationship with her mother.

The poster explained that she lost her grandfather last year, who is her aunt's biological father but not her mom's, and was left the "majority of his estate." Her mom, however, approached her and requested she share some of it with her adoptive siblings, as they were left nothing—despite neither the mom or the adopted siblings being biologically related to the grandfather. The poster refused.

"If anyone deserves anything it would be my aunt and my real siblings, though I know they would never accept anything from me," she said. "I told my mom that her kids weren't my siblings. I don't really have a relationship with them and they have their shady ways."

She said that they began harassing her after her decision.

Despite being sure of her decision, and her aunt supporting her, she was left asking if it made her "selfish" and wondered if she was "cheating" her adoptive siblings out of money.

Arguments about inheritance often divide families and although research by financial company Ameriprise in 2017 found that just 15 percent of people reported conflict with siblings over money, of those that did, nearly 70 percent cited that those arguments related to their parents and specifically sharing an inheritance.

Reddit users seemingly came to a unanimous decision on the matter: the inheritance should not be shared out.

"You were left that money instead of your mother because your grandfather saw you were a good person and he thought you deserved it," wrote one user. "Had your mother not kicked her scared and pregnant teen out of the house and shown her true colors, she may have been in the inheritance. Now she's shown you her true colors again by harassing you. Cut contact, no one needs those kinds of people in their life. You found your family, after you left your bio mom's house."

Another noted in a comment that, "you became a parent very young, your grandfather was also taking into consideration the fact that you weren't in a position to support your child without help and wanted to make sure you were able to. Your mother was in a position to support her child and CHOSE not to. That says everything.

"If you don't want to feel selfish, remember that because of this gift you have the chance to care for your child's future in a way your mother never did for you. Just don't ever think you don't deserve it, you worked hard to get where you are."

"You owe them nothing," warned another user. "If it were me, I would do something really awesome for my aunt."

In an update, the woman shared her plans to find a financial advisor to help ensure the inheritance lasts. She also said she wanted to use some of it on her aunt.

"I plan to do something really nice for my aunt because she deserves it. She's always put us and my daughter before herself. I was thinking maybe a nice family trip since I know she likes the water and beaches. I wanted to do something else for her but I just don't know what," she said.