Relationships

Mother sparks fury by leaving entire will to ‘favourite daughter’

Oct 25, 2018

The woman was left heartbroken after her mother chose not to include her in her will. Source: Getty

While parents never like to admit they have a favourite child, the sad reality is, many kids still grow up believing they are second best.

In most cases this is resolved later in life and relationships are repaired, but unfortunately for one woman her long-lived fears appear to be true.

Posting her story to online forum Reddit, the heartbroken 23-year-old claimed her mother didn’t leave her anything in her will, instead gifting everything to her older sister. Left in utter despair, the woman said she doesn’t know how to handle the situation or accept the fact she was never as important as her sibling in the eyes of her mother.

“My mother passed away and we found out that she left all her money and investments to my sister which just solidifies my gut feeling that my sister was always my mum’s favourite child,” she wrote. “I know I should just accept this and move on with my life, but I’m having a hard time not being angry and resentful at both my mum and sister.”

Growing up in the shadow of her sister, the woman admitted she had struggled to connect with her mum throughout her life and never felt truly accepted. She explained that her sister was always “spoilt” and received financial support for tertiary education and a house, while she was left with nothing.

The woman detailed how her mother bought her sister a townhouse, a brand new car and furnished her home, as well as paying all her bills and for her groceries until she got her first job at the age of 22.

“Meanwhile, when I was in high school, I was told to get a job at 15 because she wasn’t going to ‘fund my need to waste time and money’,” the woman explained.

Now that her mother has passed, the woman said she feels angry she wasn’t even mentioned in the will, despite her attempts to connect with her following the somewhat difficult childhood.

“I know it’s selfish to think this way and I know at the end of the day, it is 100 per cent my mother’s will and choice. But I feel like this is just confirmation that my sister was always more important and was always the favourite,” she wrote.

She also explained that her sister — who is 10 years older than she is — now has a better paying job and had every leg up she asked for. Meanwhile, the woman said she was constantly told no and that there was no money because her mother had already spent it on her older sister.

“I just always assumed she would at least give me something from her estate that I could use to start my retirement, or have to remove some financial pressure off my chest,” she continued.

Fellow Reddit users were quick to sympathise with the woman, claiming she had a right to be angry and upset with the situation.

“It is totally OK to recognise that your mother was unfair to you. I think therapy, and most of all, the passage of time. But honestly, stories like this are why I have come to believe in French inheritance laws, in which children can’t be disinherited (without serious legal reasons),” one person commented.

Another person said: “I can only add that this is a reflection of your mum, not you. She might have been an okay parent, but she wasn’t the parent you needed, and she wasn’t a fair one to you and your sister.”

The story comes just months after a New Zealand man was left “upset” and “betrayed” after his long-term partner died and only left him her ashes in her will.

The man had been with his partner for 27 years and took the matter to Auckland’s High Court to try to claw back some of the money she’d bequeathed her family.