Sibling relationships can be complicated enough, but add a family inheritance and years of distance to the mix? You get an extra sticky situation.
When one formally estranged brother makes a desperate plea to his brother, it exposes deep fractures and lingering family resentment.
You’ll want to read on for this one.
AITA for not letting my brother’s family live on my property?
My brother (55M) and I (53M) grew up on a working ranch.
The two brothers had two very different attitudes (and work ethics) when it came to handling the ranch.
My brother wasn’t interested in helping around the ranch and told my parents that if he was given the ranch, he would sell the entire property.
My brother stored a ton of junk in one of the barns and had no interest in wanting to get rid of anything.
I was not interested in selling the property and would invest into fixing up the ranch.
After inheriting the ranch, the older brother tried to be patient with his irresponsible brother.
So when our parents passed away, I was given the ranch.
I told my brother that if he wanted any of the junk that he left behind, he could come and grab it before I got rid of it. I gave him two months to come out and he never showed or expressed interest.
I decided to fix all the buildings and built another house on the property for family. My wife’s father moved into the house as he couldn’t afford living on his own.
The ranch became a huge project for the family.
He passed away recently, and we have been working on cleaning the house.
Our daughter (26F) has been a huge help around the house and helps around the ranch. I plan on leaving the ranch to her as she has expressed interest.
But the younger brother had no interest in participating, and in fact, pretty much cut off the rest of his family entirely.
My brother went off to live in the city with his wife and two kids.
When I was given the ranch, my brother changed, and he dropped all contact with the family. I did reach out to let him know when our parents passed and heard nothing.
That is, until he found himself in a jam.
My brother sent me a long message that his family was having trouble affording his current living situation and wanted to live in the other house.
I was hesitant about him moving onto the property as I was not sure what he would do with the house or property.
But the older brother wasn’t so ready to put the past behind them.
I told him that I felt horrible about his situation, but I have not heard from him in years and was not ready for someone to move into the house.
My brother went on to blaming me if his family became homeless and that it was my fault for going no contact with him.
AITA for not letting my brother’s family live on my property?
The ranch may have stood the test of time, but the same can’t be said for their brotherly relationship.
What did Reddit think?
His brother’s peculiar behavior makes this commenter issue a grave warning.
This brother made his priorities quite clear. It won’t be so easy to take it all back now.
If he is to let his brother back in, the arrangement needs to be highly structured.
It’s quite clear to this commenter that his brother wasn’t willing to roll up his sleeves when there was a job to be done, but he’s more than willing to reap the benefits when it’s convenient for him.
The consensus is quite clear: His brother can’t just come waltzing back in like nothing happened.
One brother built a thriving family legacy while the other only built walls.
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