Parents Fury Over Dead Uncle Not Splitting Inheritance Dragged: 'Toxic'

The internet has backed a woman who refuses to give half of her late uncle's inheritance to her brother, as he hadn't seen his uncle in over 20 years and she was made sole heir of his estate.

In a post shared on Mumsnet last Tuesday, the woman, who goes by the username Teentaxidriver, explained that when her uncle, who was divorced and childless died, about a month ago, he wrote a will naming her as his sole beneficiary and executor.

The woman's mother, who is her uncle's only sister, and her brother were left completely out of the will and are not happy about it.

She wrote: "My parents are FURIOUS and demanding that I give my brother 50%. They also expect to be 'involved' in the process of obtaining probate.

"Every single conversation we have had since his funeral has been dreadful with my dad being petty and passive aggressive and my mother crying (she has form for this basically to get her own way)."

She also said that she is planning to give her brother £125,000 ($151,150), and her parents a lump sum of £25,000 ($30,229), even though they are well off and have no need for money.

She added: "I was very close to my uncle - saw him regularly, sent him presents at Christmas, phoned him, postcards when away, emailed him, etc.

"Honestly I felt sad for him that he was mostly alone and his only child was a bit of a fuck-up."

Adding that her brother hasn't seen him in over 20 years, and her mother wasn't too close to him either, she said: "I think my father encouraged this for reasons to do with jealousy and resentment."

The estate, according to the poster, is worth about £550,000 ($665,145) after taxes, and that kind of money could help her and her husband pay a "big chunk of [their] mortgage" and have some savings.

According to statista, inherited wealth concentrates among the ultra-rich. In the United States, only 2.7 percent of millionaires and billionaires "sit at the very top of the food chain" and will be responsible for 38 percent of passed-on wealth on the continent by 2030.

Because of the flat inheritance tax rate of 40 percent, U.S. heirs can keep a bigger share of their inheritance, and many heirs are able to keep 100 percent of their inherited wealth in the U.S.

Among the 216 users who commented on the thread, most sided with the woman, telling her to keep everything to herself, as her uncle would have wanted.

One user said: "You have no moral obligation to give them anything, but I would respond every time it comes up with something along the lines of 'I will be giving [my brother] a large sum from the inheritance. Can we not talk about money...how are you?' Otherwise, how is your relationship with your family? They don't sound like very nice people!"

Another commented: "Your uncle left You the money, you are under no. Obligation to involve your parents or share the money. Take a step back before you make any choices. Your parents should slow down and have no need to get involved." And UrsulaPandress added: "Keep it."

A third user pointed out: "Sorry for your loss. it was your uncle's money to do with as he saw fit. Don't let your family brow beat you into going against his wishes. If he wanted your parents and brother to have some money he would have left it to them. I'd be giving them a much smaller token amount and keeping the rest."

Another suggested: "I suspect if your parents don't feel you gave your brother enough (half), you'll find yourself disinherited in his favor in their estate, so I'd keep it and accept you'll not inherit from them."

While a final wrote: "Be strong. Adhere to your uncle's wishes, there was a reason he made you the beneficiary and no one else. Imagine he was looking down and which route he would want you to take. Very sorry for your loss."