How would you react if your half-siblings hopped on the Greed Train and demanded money from you?

…Money that was not legally theirs…

After the death of parents or grandparents, sometimes people can get really ugly with each other.

That selfish, me-first attitude completely wipes away the memory of the loved one, and a battle inevitably ensues.

This story is pure frustration.

Half brothers threaten to sue me over 16k. It costs them 158k and possibly their parents’ marriage.

When I (25f) was 3, my grandparents passed away.

They set up a savings account in my name. The account was meant to be accessed by me when I was 21. At that point it contained just over 300k.

My grandparents left me a letter saying they would like me to share the money fairly with any other “Smith-Jones” children, meaning my full siblings (dad’s a Smith, mum’s a Jones).

By “fairly” they meant that they wanted me to assess the situation and judge for myself what was fair.

I never had full siblings, but I have 2 half brothers, “Mack and Joe Smith”, who are dad and stepmum’s kids.

Due to the specific wording my grandparents used, I legally never had to give Mack or Joe any money.

OP initially took a very fair and considerate road here.

He planned to split the money evenly across the 3 of them.

However, I see Mack and Joe as my brothers, and as the money came from our grandparents, I felt that the fairest thing would be to assign each of us 100k, so we all got an equal sized lump sum.

I figured that when Mack (the youngest) turned 21 and took his 100k, we could split any remaining money.

When I turned 21, dad suggested I buy a house with my 100k.

I found a place I loved but it was 130k and I couldn’t get a mortgage, so dad said I should borrow 30k from the account.

I did, figuring I could pay it back before my brothers turned 21, and I have been repaying it.

This quandary of borrowing against the account is where the wedge in the story is driven.

Give them an inch…

The account should be at 208k right now, but due to me withdrawing and then repaying that money it’s at 195k, so I still owe 13k.

Joe turned 21 recently, and as I was giving him his 100k, Joe noticed that there was less in the account than there should be.

I explained and said I was going to put it all back before Mack (now 19) turns 21.

Joe told Mack and both boys said I stole from them and owed them the full 13k back plus 3 grand of interest that they felt they would have gotten, and they wanted it all paid by this summer, which gave me less than 6 months to bring the account up to 211k. I said I’d do it, but over 2 years as planned.

A contract was written, and the parties came together to sign.

Except an un-agreed-upon stipulation was added.

The boys then wrote up a contract to that effect.

I went to sign it, until I saw that it said 6 months to pay it all back. I wouldn’t sign as we agreed on 2 years. They said I should figure it out as they were entitled to that money and would be seeking legal advice.

Later that day I got an email, clearly written by them, saying that they intend to sue me for the 16k, plus whatever is currently in the account, and additional “damages” and “emotional distress” on top of that.

OP then responded, and the strong-arm was in place.

Enough was enough.

At this point in time, I’d given Joe about 50k of his 100k, because he wanted it in instalments. I responded that legally, they were never entitled to any of it, and given their attitudes, I’d say they’ve already received an amount I deem fair, so that 50k was all they were getting. I then got a barrage of texts, calls, and emails yelling at me for going back on our “deal”. I blocked them.

They then took to social media, saying that I was trying to screw them out of their inheritance and rallying our extended family into harassing me over this, and it mostly worked as a lot of people messaged me.

Enter a new wrinkle.

Another half-brother with a very similar account, and choice!

However, I got a message from this guy called “Chris Smith”. Chris said he was 27, and claimed to be my half brother. I had never met him before, but he sent me photos of him as a kid with our dad, grandparents, and me. He showed me that he also had an account with 150k in it, and a scan of a letter from our grandparents, saying this money was meant to be shared fairly among dad’s illegitimate children.

Chris also told me we have another half sibling, who is 18. He’d been looking for me for a while, but only found me when dad shared Joe’s post which had me tagged.

We checked with a solicitor to make sure, and as the boys are legitimate, they aren’t entitled to anything in Chris’ illegitimate kid fund, and as they are my half siblings, they aren’t entitled to anything in my Smith-Jones kids fund, either.

OP took legal steps to really drive home that the abuse was DONE.

And wouldn’t you know it, the greedy father was out there begging hand in fist.

I sent the boys a letter formally telling them to back off, stop posting about me online, and enjoy the 50k because it’s all they’re getting.

The day they received the letter, Chris got a PM from dad, asking if the boys can have some of Chris’ fund. Chris also said no, and told dad we’d met.

I told Mack and Joe about Chris and our other half sibling, with Chris’ permission.

So it looks like my grandparents, knowing about Chris before they passed, set up 2 funds.

One for the kids dad had with my mother, who was still his wife when they passed, and one for children born out of dad’s affairs, presumably to make sure no one tried to screw anyone else over out of hurt feelings.

The fallout from the greedy vultures had caused a rift in the family.

And it didn’t just end with OP.

I’m getting a lot of ***, but holding firm on my decision.

The boys have realised that I won’t back down on this and it sounds like I’ve caused a schism at their house, as Joe has all the money and no intention of sharing so Mack is now feeling twice as screwed, plus stepmum apparently did not know about the other half siblings, or that my half sister was born after she and dad got married, and she’s made dad move into a hotel.

It sounds like dad is looking for a long term living arrangement outside of the family home, because it looks like she is not letting him move back in.

Dad is begging me to reconsider, but honestly I’m done with all of them except Chris and my sister.

Wow. That’s a drama and a half.

Let’s see what folks had to say.

One commenter suggested being really wise with that money!

Another person pointed out the good hearts of the grandparents.

While one Redditor cemented that a will is a will. Outside forces have nothing to do with it, legally.

Greed is not a financial issue, it’s a heart issue.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.