Dad Gives His Stepson an Equal Share of His Inheritance, Faces the Wrath of His Biological Children

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Mar 24, 2023 12:00 AM EDT

You know that feeling when your father drafts his will in such a messed up way that it becomes clear he should really be investing in therapy instead?

 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole subreddit by u/Particular-Song-5748, who described a recent fight with his biological children (now in their 30s) after telling them that he plans to give his stepson the same percentage of his inheritance. To clarify: his stepson (12 years old) has only been in the father's life for 4 years now, and although he denies this, it's quite clear that his preferential treatment towards his stepson is an attempt to right the wrongs of the past when his biological kids were young.

 

You'd think a better way to right those wrongs would involve focusing his attention on the biological kids themselves, but I guess a 62-year-old man's mind works in mysterious ways. It should also be noted that the biological kids played a role in expanding their dad's business and helping him become successful later in life. What a completely idiotic move to then give them less inheritance, especially when they played such a large part in his later success in the first place!

 

For more family drama, take a look at this post about a teenager who learned he was the product of infidelity, and keep scrolling below for the full story and the best comments from other Redditors.

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  • 01
    Font - AITA for leaving an equal inheritance to my stepson as my bio kids? chole I (62m) met my current wife (39f) four years ago, and we got married two years ago. She has a son (12m) from her previous marriage who lives with us full time (his dad visits occasionally, but lives in another country). I also have two adult children (34m and 32f) from my first marriage. I will admit I don't have the greatest track record as a father. While my bio kids were growing up, we were kind of distant, as th
    via u/Particular-Song-5748
  • 02
    Font - My relationship with my stepson is quite good. He doesn't call me dad, but seems to view me as a very close uncle. I do my best to be a good father figure to him. If I'm being completely honest, I hope that eventually he will see me as a father figure, especially given that his father is never really around, and constantly disappoints him. So here's the issue. A few weeks ago while I was going through some things in the basement with my bio son and daughter, the topic of inheritance came
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  • 03
    Font - Well, my kids are furious with me now, telling me this was unfair, as they had to grow up with a cold, emotionally and physically distant/unavailable father who struggled to bring food to the table. They mention how my stepson gets to live a luxurious childhood with a much kinder and more present/emotionally available and supportive parent than they had ever had while not even being my real son. Then on top of that, they would lose out on the inheritance they feel they had earned for work
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  • 04
    Font - I can understand their point of view. They feel like I'm slighting them for my "new family" with a much younger wife and what they claim is a do-over child (which he is not, but I can see why they see it that way). I want to do right by my stepson, but also my bio-kids, who did have to put up with a lot more during their childhood than my stepson. AITA for planning to leave an equal inheritance to him?
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  • 05
    Font - Edit: I should have specified. The way I was thinking about forming my will, I'm leaving about 60% of my assets to all three of my kids, so each kid will get 20%. Wife will get about 30%. The business will be going to my bio kids, unless my wife or stepson decide to get involved in the future, but my bio-kids will get majority stakes either way. I have been thinking on this a lot the past several weeks though, and I'm thinking each of my bio kids will receive 30%, wife will receive 25%, a
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  • 06
    Font - Such-Excitement3607 19 hr. ago 3 hole Enthusiast [5] YTA, without a. doubt. Why are you treating some random kid that youve known for 2 minutes the same as your actual real kids who you have apparently failed over and over again? I guess you can leave him a bit, but 1/3 is ridiculous. 12.8k Reply Share
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  • 07
    Font - SteampunkHarley 19 hr. ago hole Enthusiast [5]] Agreed. He has this kid in his life for a hot minute and he's already in the will? He isn't on the same level as the bio kids just yet I'd have waited to make sure the new wife and kid actually stick around before adding them in. 4.0k Reply Share
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  • 08
    Font - EddaValkyrie 16 hr. ago Colo-rectal Surgeon [41] And the kid doesn't even see him as a father figure either, just a "close uncle". Absolutely wild. 2.7k Reply Share
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  • 09
    Font - happy_meow 16 hr. ago More like grandpa. 2.4k a-aron1112 11 hr. ago Uncle grandpa is that you? 657 Reply Share happy_meow 11 hr. ago Yes nephew grandson I'm here 324 Reply Share Reply Share
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  • 10
    Font - anikins25 14 hr. ago S . It sounds like he still has a metric futon of guilt over how the first two grew up. He sees himself in stepson's dad and how he treats the stepkid so now op has let his own guilt over how his kids grew up to swing him too far in the wrong direction to over compensate for his own mistakes. Dude needs therapy and to rewrite his will again 946 Reply Share
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  • 11
    Font - Yikes44 13 hr. ago Colo-rectal Surgeon That's very perceptive and makes a lot of sense. I think OP is also undervaluing his bio kids' contribution to growing his business. 385 Reply Share
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  • 12
    Font - Expensive_Pepper9725. 11 hr. ago If he really wants to do something for his stepson in monetary aspects, he should probably setup a college fund plus few extra cash for headstart in adult life. That would more than generous and will not be unfair to his real children. 196 Reply Share
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  • 13
    Font - RavenLunatyk. 15 hr. ago And they helped grow the business. If that is the case the definitely deserve more. You don't have to cut the stepson out but giving him an equal share is not right by your bio kids. 10% maybe. 315 Reply Share
    via u/Particular-Song-5748
  • 14
    Font - OSUJillyBean 14 hr. ago It's because OP is happy to have snagged a "hot young" wife so he dotes on her kid to keep her happy and make him feel better about neglecting his kids during their childhood. He's old enough to be his stepson's grandfather. 255 Reply Share
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  • 15
    Gesture - absolutebottom. 12 hr. ago A wife nearly the same age as his kids 187 Reply Share
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  • 16
    Font - Ze_Doodles 9 hr. ago I know a guy near me whose daughter is literally older than his wife. Then when she came to visit, the wife was upset the daughter wouldn't listen to her... like literally she's older I babysat for them, their son is absolutely adorable, he's 3. But domn that's a screwed up situation when your sister is older than your mom. 138 Reply Share
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  • 17
    Font - Ok-Cap-204 12 hr. ago I would bet the wife is sticking around because OP is so much older, he is wealthy, and has at least 1 foot in the grave. She figures she will bide her time, enjoying the luxuries he can provide until he croaks. And if he croaks before he changes the will, she will fight tooth and nail for what she has "earned" as is wife. The new do over family is enjoying the fruits of his labor that he sacrificed his first family to gain. No wonder the bio kids are angry. YTA 170
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  • 18
    Font - Bachpipe 9 hr. ago Ok I'm sorry bit 62 is not thát old.. 4 35 Reply Share
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  • 19
    Font - healthandsafetydance · 8 hr. ago Partsipant [1] Jesus Christ, not only is he not that old, but maybe reexamine how you view women.
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  • 20
    Font - t13husky 11 hr. ago Four years isn't a hot minute to a 12 year old. 125 Reply Share Platypus211 10 hr. ago Totally true, that's a significant chunk of the kid's life. 34 Reply Share
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