In some families, responsibility doesn’t get shared — it gets inherited.

After a series of troubling events, one teenage girl found herself bearing the brunt of responsibility for her special needs brother.

Will her fate as an unwilling caregiver be sealed, or can she finally find a way to break through from the path the rest of her family has paved for her?

You’ll want to read on for this one.

AITA For refusing to become my disabled brothers legal caretaker when I turn 18?

I (16F) have been my disabled brother’s (18M) caretaker for many years.

Ever since I could walk and talk on my own, I became basically a live-in maid.

This servitude was encouraged by some members of the family.

My grandmother believed this was right because she’s old school and believed women did all the chores on top of doting over the men.

This includes making and bringing him food and drink, setting up his table, cleaning up after him, and being emotionally available like a mother would be for him—soothing tantrums and outbursts mainly.

This way of life is pretty much all she’s known.

Even in elementary school, this was my way of life.

For context, he has mild-needs Kabuki Syndrome.

He can walk (waddle, because he’s 300+ pounds), talk, eat, and think on his own.

Regardless of the fact that her brother has become more capable of being independent, she still bears the brunt of responsibility for him.

No feeding tubes, no wheelchairs or braces, no PT or anything.

He was more feeble when we were younger, needing many surgeries and the like, but has been more independent since he was about 10.

My mother was too busy drinking to actually emotionally be there for him, which fell to me.

And after her mother was out of the picture, things only got worse for the teen.

She passed away four years ago, and at the same time, my grandmother took in our three cousins.

This meant she had to care for six emotionally distressed kids aged 12–17.

Of course, all his needs fell to me, the little sister.

There are a few legal matters that now need to be decided which would cement her fate as a permanent caregiver.

Nowadays, all six of her grandkids are 18 or above except me, and we’re going to court soon to get legal guardianship over my brother, who we’ll call Ben.

My gran talked with the whole family about putting my other brother, who we’ll call Peter, on the paperwork as a caretaker, as well as my uncle and eventually me when I turn 18.

But she knows she’ll have to end up doing all the work — and she’s getting tired of it.

The others have no clue how to take care of him.

They don’t pay rent. They don’t do anything for Ben.

It’s all fallen to me and Gran — of which she has dementia — and especially after she forgets our names and dies, all of his needs will go to me and only me.

AITA for not wanting to be my brother’s caregiver?

Her brother is family, but she shouldn’t have to sacrifice her future for his benefit.

This user lets the teen know that what she’s dealing with here is serious.

An unwilling caregiver usually isn’t the best caregiver.

Surely there are other resources outside of the family that could be consulted here.

This commenter pleads with the teen to do better for herself while she still has time.

The weight she’s carrying is far too heavy for any teenager.

And unless something changes, she knows it’s only going to get heavier.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.