It’s hard to deal with when a loved one leaves. It is also difficult and emotional for those left behind. For widows, the pain can be exacerbated by having to make decisions about leaving an inheritance.
One such widow is faced with a dilemma: should she follow her late husband’s will and keep the inheritance for herself, or should she share it with her husband’s in-laws despite his instructions? For the sake of her story, we’ll call her Jill.
Jill’s story
Husband and soulmate Jill, 32, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and died less than two years later. Jill, his main caregiver, quit her job to provide full-time care for the last ten months of his life.
Because the treatment was complex and required 24-hour care, it became too much for one person, and Jill hired a nurse when her or his parents were away. She expressed her love for her husband with all her being and considered taking care of him a top priority. However, after his death, Jill found herself alone with a car, a dog, and an urn.
She had neither a job nor a home, as they lived with his parents and had no family in the city. Jill admitted that she had always disliked the topic of her late husband’s will and how he intended to distribute the money on his insurance policy.
Jill’s husband comes from a wealthier family and she was worried that people would think she was manipulating a person to get money. Therefore, she asked him to make a decision without their participation.
He left 60% of the money to Jill and 10% to each of their four siblings. He left nothing for his parents. He believed that Jill would need money to rebuild her life, since she quit her job for them, she had no family and no home. So he wanted Jill to pay off her student loan, go back to school, get another degree, and buy a house for her and their 80-pound dog.
Jill’s dilemma
However, his sister was the executor of the will and asked Jill if they would like to give some of the money to her parents since they had nothing left in the will. Jill refused, as she had asked him about it before he passed away, and he refused.
Now Jill feels guilty because she loves his parents, but they understand that she needs money to get on her feet. However, his sister believes that Jill is wrong and now Jill is unsure.
Jill tries to convince herself that this is what her late husband wanted. Also, his parents never asked for money and the other siblings never mentioned it. Jill loves her family and doesn’t want to hurt them. So she went to Reddit for answers. Here’s how they responded.
Hire a Real Estate Lawyer
Many expressed their condolences before one of them added, “I am so sorry to lose your significant other. Hire a real estate lawyer to oversee the distribution. The executor must follow nothing but the intentions and will of the deceased. I’m not saying my sister will do something bad, but be careful about it.”
Respect the wishes of her late husband
“Parents should not expect an inheritance from their children; things are not supposed to work this way. I’m sure they didn’t expect any money and wanted the best for Jill, who loved and cared for their son and whom their son loved and wanted to provide for,” replied another. “Jill should respect her significant other’s wishes and let him do the last thing he can do for her.”
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You sacrificed for Him
“You sacrificed everything to take care of him in his last days,” one of them replied. “It’s time to build your life with his latest gift. His family will be fine and frankly it’s none of their business at the end of the day.”
Another agreed: “You gave up everything. The parents are financially ok. You do not. I could understand if there was something sentimental, but it’s money. So he left, wanting to know that you’ll be ok, and not on the street because of him.”
What do you think? Should this Redditor give away part of the inheritance to her late husband’s parents, or fulfill his last wish? This article is inspired by the Internet and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Wealthy Nickel.
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