Teen Kicking Out Stepdad and His Daughters Leaving Them Homeless Backed

A teenager has posted to Reddit to ask if he is "the A**hole" for inheriting his mother's house after her death in December and asking his stepfather and children to move out. In the post, 19-year-old user Living-Cheesecake-995 describes how his parents divorced when he was 6, after which his mother got a boyfriend called Josh, and they started living together when he was 9. He goes on to explain that as he grew up, due to tensions with his stepfamily and feeling pushed out of his mother's new nuclear family, he rarely spent time his mother's house. "Because Josh and her never got married for some reason, I inherited everything, including her house. I allowed Josh and the kids to still live there. I payed half the bills as he is strugling [sic] because of low paying job."

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The teenager explains how he decided to move into the house as the lease on his place is up soon, explaining to his stepfather that he will take the master bedroom and they can move in to the other room. "He started crying how bedroom is his safe space and all my mom's things are there which gives him peace. I told him he can move few of her things to my old room (my room is 1/3 of the bedroom). He started crying even more that he doesn't want to abandon their bedroom." Describing himself as "pissed" he told them to leave, afterward receiving a message saying the family had moved out and were staying in a homeless shelter. "I got messages from my mom's side of family how I am heartless and cruel to kick them out. How the twins lost mom and home in less than a year."

Talking to Newsweek, therapist, author and creator of Rapid Transformational Therapy, Marisa Peer argues that the key thing to note here is that three of the protagonists in this situation are still children. "At 19, whilst considered an adult in the U.S.," she explains, "it is recognized that a person doesn't fully mature, either mentally and emotionally, until the age 25-plus. As for the twins, they are 14 and just into their teens, which is a difficult time without dealing with the added trauma of losing their mom." She explains that it's also important to remember that everyone deals with grief in their own way, and "until we are faced with the death of a loved one, we cannot anticipate how we will react."

Death can bring fractured families together, explains Peer, "as they share in their grief for a loved one or arrange the practicalities of a funeral. However, heightened emotions can also uncover unhealed rifts, jealousy and resentment bringing out the worst in people."

The teenager describes how he is being criticized for his actions by his extended family, "Twins texted me how they cant believe their own brother made them homeless and asked me what the did wrong. My dad and his family told me I did nothing wrong. I do feel bad for them, but I still think I decide who gets what room in my house. AITA?" In an update, the Reddit user posted that he will call his stepfather and ask to meet with the aim of coming to an agreement.

Peer agrees and told Newsweek that the son and stepfather should meet, "possibly with a mediator." and have an open and honest conversation. "The father needs to put the welfare of his daughters ahead of his reluctance to move rooms and be glad that his family can stay in their family home. Taking them to a shelter is very irrational and certainly not putting their needs for minimal disruption above his own."

User SamiHami24 commented, "OP didn't even plan to evict them initially. All the man had to do is move into a different bedroom. But making his teenagers, who recently lost their mother figure, homeless was the option he chose."

User mydeadmon said, "It's also important to note that if OPs mother wanted Josh to get the house she could have left it to him. Wills exist for a reason."

User tekflower wrote, "Josh is a manipulator, and from what is described, possibly unstable. That's why he went to the homeless shelter when he didn't have to. He wanted to make the OP seem like a heartless monster so he could guilt him into giving him whatever he wanted."

Newsweek reached out to u/Living-Cheesecake-995 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.