Parents return to abandoned 17-year-old raised by grandparents, demand to know if their other kids are getting the same amount of inheritance: 'I just shut the door on them'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 23, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

While it isn't something that should ever happen, some kids really draw the short straw when it comes to their parents. There are plenty of people out there who are moms and dads on a technicality, but their behavior says otherwise. It's a sad but not uncommon state of affairs.

One 17-year-old has had the misfortune of dealing with this all his life after his parents decided at the last minute that they were not ready to have a child and left him in the care of his paternal grandparents. He didn't hear from his mom and dad until recently when they came back into the life of his family and started asking if their other, younger kids, who they were raising, would get part of his grandparents' inheritance. 

Understandably, the teenager wasn't too happy about this situation, but he was feeling the pressure. Luckily, the internet was on his side.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10419120384
    via Getty Images (Unsplash +)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    AITA for rolling my eyes during a serious discussion my grandparents son and sons wife wanted to have with me?
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 03
    So clarity is that my grandparents son and his wife are my biological parents. But I (17m) have been raised by my grandparents since birth and do not recognize their son or his wife as my parents. Biological parents if I have to be honest about it but my parents are my grandparents to me. But I call them both grandparents and parents depending on the situation.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 04
    My biological parents had me in their mid 20s but they "weren't ready to be parents" and asked my grandparents to raise me at the last minute, like 2 days before I was born last minute. They (my biological parents) actually walked out of the hospital and just left me there. Called my grandparents first but they were gone by the time my grandparents got there.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 05
    I grew up around my paternal family minus my parents. I didn't "meet" them until earlier this year. I'm close to aunts and uncles who are more like siblings in some ways but also like aunts and uncles. Cousins I'm close to as well. My grandparents are my favorite people though and I'm SO glad they raised me. They were amazing grandparents turned parents again.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 06
    About a year and a half ago my biological parents returned and told the family they had kids. My grandparents didn't push me to interact or meet any of them so I stayed out of it. My grandparents only interacted twice. My biological parents chased after them to be more involved but my grandparents said no. The extended family didn't see them often either even though my biological parents really tried to act like it was all one big family around them again.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 07
    The discussion of inheritance and wills came up and my biological parents wanted to know if their kids had been added as equal grandkids and they said they heard I was being treated like a kid and why the was that happening. I was no more their kid than the other grandkids and I shouldn't take priority as a grandkid either since I was one of the oldest. I didn't need anything. My grandparents kicked them out and told them to get lost (in their more mature nature). This brought my biological pare
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 08
    coolranchpuffs So... your bio parents vanish and miss your entire childhood, leaving you in the (thankfully great) care of your grandparents, only to reappear 17 years later to sniff out potential inheritance money. Got it. NTA.
    via coolranchpuffs
  • 09
    Local_Budget7554 OP Yep. Although it almost feels like they came back to make sure I wasn't getting anything because that horrified and outraged them more than anything. Like my grandparents didn't raise me since the day I was born.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 10
    MasterpieceOk4688 They try to make sure that their other kids get the same as you. Guess they still see you as burden, but as a different one. Now you stand between them and their inheritance. Is there a lot to inherit?
    via MasterpieceOk4688
  • 11
    Local_Budget7554 OP I think they want their kids to get more than me, not the same. My grandparents do have money. It won't be enough to make anyone rich for life. But it wouldn't hurt to have. The house is their biggest asset I'd guess. We have a very nice house.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 12
    afdf34 Sounds like they're more interested in the money than a real relationship with you.
    via afdf34
  • 13
    feraxks Grandparents need to deduct 18 years of child support from OP's biological parents inheritance, though it would be better to just cut them out of the will altogether.
    via feraxks
  • 14
    Suspiciouscupcake23 They definitely waited until you were almost an adult to come around again, just to make sure no one would ask them to take responsibility (which obviously you would have wanted anyway).
    via Suspiciouscupcake23
  • 15
    No_Broccoli Here1807 Why is the great-uncle wading in? What point do they even have? They ditched and don't like being called out lol NTA
    via No_Broccoli_Here1807
  • 16
    I_Suggest_Therapy Your biological parents sound awful. I do feel bad for the other children though. It sounds like everyone is icing out the kiddos even though they have zero fault in all of this. I hope that's just a misinterpretation on my part. Sounds like your biological parents are working hard at making sure all their offspring will need extensive therapy.
    via I_Suggest_Therapy
  • 17
    FailureAirlines Families and money do not mix. Stay away from the drama and keep your relationship with your grandparents.
    via FailureAirlines
  • 18
    NobodysPerfectTen NTA. Your biological parents feel threatened because you being treated as your grandparents' child rather than their grandchild means that there is one more child to share in the inheritance. Based on what you're saying, it sounds like your biological parents are anticipating an equitable distribution of your grandparents wealth when they finally pass on. Frankly, in your biological parents' place, I'd worry more about being left out of the will completely. That's what your gra
    via NobodysPerfectTen
  • 19
    Ready or not, you are a parent. This is not a responsibility you can just off on something else. Compounding their offense, when they decided they were ready, they didn't bother inviting you back into the fold. They just made more kids and left you where you are. If my parents did that to me, I would tell them in no uncertain terms that they are dead to me, and have no right to even speak to me, much less discuss inheritance. Your parents are greedy, selfish and immature. Like I said, in your gr
    via NobodysPerfectTen
  • 20
    Local_Budget7554 OP Yep. I think they expected my grandparents to leave me out of any inheritance/will. Almost like they want me punished for being born before they were ready. It's such a weird way to behave. It's the fact they waited for the very last minute and really had no backup plan if my grandparents said no. I would have become a foster kid for a while at birth if they'd pulled that stunt without my grandparents saying they'd raise me. And who knows what would have happened. I know babi
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 21
    MissAnth NTA because your biological parents have no business coming to you after 17 years and asking you for anything. But you need to have a serious talk with your grandparents. They need to see a lawyer and have ironclad wills. Don't bring up who will get what. Frankly, that's not your business. It's 100% your grandparents' choice. It doesn't matter who is a kid, who is a grandkid, etc. It only matters what your grandparents choose to give to each person. But it would help you out immensely a
    via MissAnth
  • 22
    Tell your grandparents things like you love them and appreciate them, and you want their wishes to be honored. Tell them that you don't want to fight with your biological parents, so they have to have wills that will not allow any discussion or debate.
    via MissAnth
  • 23
    Local_Budget7554 OP My grandparents already have wills. They had them before I was born and they update their wills every year or two. It's a big deal to them and sometimes I have heard the funniest arguments about additions to the wills.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 24
    Travel8059 Nta Personally I would avoid your bio parents moving forward if they want to meet up again. They are just coming around "for the money" and hopes of being put in the will. Don't allow them to guilt you for their negative choices. You did nothing wrong. You are lucky to have such great grandparents as parents to you growing up. They are your real parents. As far as any will or inheritance, simply refuse to discuss this matter with your biological parents. In my opinion it's horrible et
    via Travel8059
  • 25
    Local_Budget7554 OP Oh, trust me, I regret answering the door that day. If I had known it was them I would have let them keep ringing the doorbell. Not a mistake I will repeat. When I am home nobody is home Imao.
    via Local_Budget7554
  • 26
    Louis V25 NTA. You've done nothing wrong. Stay away from them and their child. They've only come back to stake a claim on money. They'll treat their kid better than you - no need to subject yourself to that. 1. The OTHERS are ridiculous to think that they have any say in how YOUR parents divide THEIR estate. 2. The OTHERS not only left you, they left YOUR parents. 3. Rolling your eyes was polite compared to the things that could be said and are ALL TRUE. 4. It is time to drop grand. If EVER appr
    via LouisV25

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teenager parenting aita reddit thread Reddit inheritance kids abandoned siblings will grandparents
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