Wife Refusing to Share $1.3M Inheritance With Ex's New Girlfriend Applauded

A woman refusing to share her ex-husband's hefty life insurance payout worth more than a million dollars with his girlfriend has been applauded online.

The mom-of-2 asked for advice on Reddit's Am I The A**hole forum, under username u/EverBlazinGirl, as she revealed her ex, 48, recently passed away.

Entitled "my ex husband passed away. I'm to inherit everything and his GF, that he left me for is trying to contest his will," the post has racked up more than 13,000 upvotes since being shared on Sunday.

The post, which can be read here, starts: "I feel terrible and I don't know if I'm entitled to his money but I can't deny that I'm tempted not only because it was his wish but also because I don't want to say no to this amount of money."

While it's not clear where the poster based, The People's Law Library of Maryland states only certain parties can contest a will.

"A will may be contested for a variety of reasons. Maybe you were completely left out of a will or you did not inherit as much as you thought you would," it states.

Only an "interested party" can object which includes someone named as a beneficiary, or "if there had been no will, you would have inherited something under Maryland intestacy laws."

But the girlfriend fits into neither category, as the site stated: "There must be a legitimate reason for the court to invalidate a will. Simply being unsatisfied with what you received under the will is not enough."

Legitimate grounds include wills being drafted under duress, undue influence, incompetence, or in the case of forgery.

Although they said: "If a will is found that appears to be more recent, the older will could be invalidated."

Meaning if the husband previously named his girlfriend as a beneficiary, then changed his mind to his ex-wife, the girlfriend could have a stake.

The 44-year-old woman revealed she and her ex had been together for a decade, and she was four months pregnant with their first child when he left her for another woman.

She said: "I can't describe the hurt and confusion I was feeling. He didn't give me any reason. I thought we were soulmates and we were married for ten years. I didn't see it coming at all.

"I tried to reason with him but he was decided and he moved out within a week. A week later his lawyer sent me a letter to move from the apartment. I found out a couple of weeks later that he had met someone (f33) and that's why he was divorcing me and buying me out of our apartment.

"He never spoke to me until I had a late miscarriage 2 months after (NOT blaming him). He texted me that he wanted to see me and talk. I didn't reply. He tried to reach out a few times more but I never answered him."

That was eight years ago, and she has since moved on with her life, having married her current husband, 42, and she now has a 5-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy.

Around six months ago she discovered her ex was terminally ill, but she refused to see him again as his "last wish."

"What do you say to someone who hurt you this bad after all these years? Does him dying make it less hurtful? Does it make me forget my resentment? I didn't want to find out," she admitted.

She later learned he'd left her the majority of his estate, around €1.3 million ($1.3 million.)

She explained: "His parents get a generous amount for their retirement and his nephew gets money for college but other than that, I get everything else including the apartment.

"He had a letter where he told me he was sorry about everything. He never stopped loving or thinking of me. In his mind I was still his wife. He never got over the loss of our baby and felt responsible for it.

"He seemed really remorseful and he seemed to have followed my life closely. He knew who my husband was, my children, their names, my current job. I appreciate the letter but it made me feel so guilty that I didn't give him his last wish."

The woman he left her for, now 33, seemingly got nothing in his will, as she claimed her ex-in laws were pressuring her to "be fair" and share the money "or she would be on the street."

She added she felt the girlfriend wasn't "entitled" to her money, saying: "Since she met him she had dropped college and never worked a day in her life and she has nothing to her name.

"The girlfriend is threatening to contest the will says that I have used and abused him and his trust. I have manipulated him to give me everything and that she won't leave her home."

People urged her to take the money, as Blakbabee said: "Girlfriends don't get anything, unless it's stated in the will. They were never married. Unlucky for her."

Afraid_Sense5363 wrote: "Respect his wishes. His parents can share if they want, like the attorney said."

Majestic-Post-1684 said: "Honor your ex husband's last wishes and take what is owed to you. He never married her and didn't bother to leave her in his will. If he wanted to he would have. So why should you care more about her than your ex husband?"

In an update, she asked herself if her "hatred" for the girlfriend clouded her judgement, adding: "If it was just a random innocent woman he met later. Would I feel that she's entitled to the money he left me?

"My answer was still NO, so now I'm pretty sure of my decision. I'm happy that it wasn't based on hate or resentment as I originally thought and felt guilty about. I believe whatever he's left me for whatever reason is mine and therefore nobody is entitled to it."

Newsweek contacted u/EverBlazinGirl for comment.

The chart below, provided by Statista, shows some of the most expensive divorces in history.

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