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A man has come forward to reveal his partner's sister allegedly spent $60,000 on her mother's debit card after she felt her mom was "wasting" her inheritance.
The viral post, posed in the form of an answer to a question on the website Quora, a question-and-answer platform, garnered over 400 comments in response. The original poster (OP) asked the question, "Would it be rude to ask my grandparents for my inheritance while they're alive so they can see me enjoy it by going traveling?"
In 2017, people were asked in a Statista survey if they won the lottery or received an inheritance amounting to $100,000 what they would do with it. Of the 1,020 respondents, 40 percent said they would pay off debt or loans. In addition, 12 percent would invest in their own retirement, while 11 percent would use the amount to purchase a house.
Over 300 answers poured in over the question, including one that went viral with 19,300 upvotes. The commenter, Brian Ellis, weighed in on May 15, 2021, and he didn't hold back. He started off by saying that before his mother-in-law died, she had a lot of money, which was tied in with her retirement investments that were in place for her to have a great retirement.
Brain continued: "And then along came her middle son and her daughter who were seriously pissed-off because they both felt their mother was wasting what they thought was their inheritance. We kept reminding these two siblings the money was their mother's which she had sacrificed so much... for the fruitful and happy last years of her life."
It turns out that Brian's sister-in-law came to be in possession of her mother's bank card, racking up more than $60,000 in debt in three months. Brian added, "and she had absolutely nothing to show for it!"
"My partner made his sister return the card to their mother, and then we took the bankcard for safekeeping, much to the chagrin of his sister," Brian added. "If we had not stepped in, when we did, the mother would have been living in a s**thole [in] the middle son's basement, or on the street, instead of living in the very nice retirement home of her choice which she had saved for!"
Brian offered up his advice to the person posing the original question in regards to asking their grandparents for their inheritance, and he didn't mince words. "Don't be a parasite!" he said.
"My advice to you is to not try to take what isn't yours because your grandparents are probably still using it," he said. "And it is still theirs after all, not yours."
Numerous Quora users commented on Brian's response, and many seem to agree with his views on the question. One user doesn't think "younger people" see that those who are retired are using the money they have to "generate income."
"Yes, I might have a big chunk in my various retirement accounts, but at this time, it's not mine to spend or to blow on luxuries because it is the source of my monthly income," they added. "If I give my children their inheritance early, I am greatly reducing my monthly income."
Some included their own stories in the comments. One such user admitted to agreeing with Brian "100 percent," adding that their parents worked "very hard" for their home and the money they did have. When their mom had to sell the house after her spouse died, the money allowed her to be taken care of.
"She would have been horrified at how much money we spent caring for her, but my sister and I would not have had it any other way," they wrote.
Many people slammed the original poster's question about asking for their inheritance, insisting they aren't entitled to anything. "In the meantime, you are owed nothing right now," a user expressed. "Do you really expect someone to live their life differently so that you can get an inheritance to travel? Wow! Back off and as already [has] been said, 'Stop being a parasite.'"
Another thinks the OP's question "would be beyond rude" to ask. They also thought that if the poster was their grandchild and asked them, they would "politely show you the door and immediately call my lawyer and disinherit you. It is not your money, and you have no right to assume it ever will be."
One user insists there's "always one in every family," revealing in their family it's their niece. Their father had an old truck and chose to sell it, and "her first word after finding out – 'Are you going to share?' She repeated it about four times before I wanted to slap her."
Still more users weighed in with their thoughts on inheritance rights. "I think I must be born of the last generation that you are entitled to exactly what you are born with out of life – to be naked and crying lol," a user said.
While another user thinks that no one has the "right to inherit anything," insisting, "it's up to the people with the money to decide, and they are allowed to change their minds on it."
This isn't the only viral moment involving inheritance this year. In February, the internet supported a woman who didn't leave inheritance to her husband's kids. In addition, online users defended a woman who refused to give the house she inherited to her brother. Additionally, people rallied around a person who wanted to leave their niece their inheritance but not their nephew in a viral post from last December.
