Mother-in-law drains over $4,000 from Grandma’s account for financial thrills, forcing her daughter’s spouse to open a secret bank so their paycheck is safe from the 64-year-old’s ventures: ‘I’ll just cash the check and put it into the new account’

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
May 5, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Every family has a wild card, but when that card is your mother-in-law and she's suddenly moonlighting as a one-woman currency exchange, you'd be right to start guarding your PIN like it's the doomsday launch code. In this particular domestic financial thriller, we find a long-suffering spouse who's watched their mother-in-law stumble from divorce drama to "online boyfriends" to investment schemes faster than you can say phishing. Already down one bank account, a few rounds of suspicious expenses, and blessed with in-laws who treat joint checking like an all-you-can-transfer buffet, our hero's patience is running on fumes.

The last straw was when Grandma's life savings Houdini-ed into digital coins, courtesy of a little too much trust and a shared account with the family's resident futures enthusiast. Now, with $4,000 in grandma's estate floating somewhere in digital purgatory, our guy does what any rational person would.

Advertisement

  • He opened a new bank account, privatized the funds, and hung a “No mother-in-law allowed” sign on the vault.


    This radical act of adulting is, of course, grounds for heartbreak, because nothing says “healthy boundaries” like being emotionally manipulated for not wanting your paycheck funneled into the next “sure thing” that guarantees overnight riches and an express ticket to IRS limbo.

  • "AITA for taking steps to keep my bank account safe my MIL"

    "I told my wife I was opening a new bank account with my next paycheck"
    via Konstantin Postumitenko

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • My MIL (64F) went through a terrible divorce about six years ago from my FIL (72M), who was emotionally ab ive. The divorce was messy, filled with harsh words (mostly from him), and
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • ended with my MIL getting a restraining order. At one point, he even posted on Facebook that my wife "didn't deserve to wear my name." The man is a total AH.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • Since the divorce, my MIL has tried to move on, but she's clearly lonely and, frankly, a bit desperate. She's had a few guys over (we live next door), which doesn't bother me. At one point, she had an "online boyfriend"-
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • Cheezburger Image 10501505536
    via studioroman

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • supposedly wealthy and promising to marry her once he returned to the States. I'm 99% sure this guy was a scammer. I overheard some sketchy conversations she had with her
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • bank about "legit money from an uncle." It sounded like a money laundering scheme. Eventually, she switched banks and stopped talking to him (or so we think).
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • Fast forward, and she starts getting into cryptocurrency. One day, she asked my wife (37F) for our bank info for a "sure thing" investment. I (36F) don't trust crypto at all and told my wife no. MIL insisted-$200 invested now would become $1,000 in a week.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • Cheezburger Image 10501505792
    via alessandrobiascioli

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Against my better judgment, I caved and told my wife to give her our card info. For context, MIL is listed on my bank account (from before all this started), though she doesn't have a card or checks.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • About a week later, MIL transferred $500 to my wife's Cash App. I told my wife this was a one-time thing, and if it came up again, it would be a divorce- level issue. To her credit, it hasn't come up again. That was about two months ago.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • Then, this morning, everything blew up.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • I work graveyard shifts and had just gotten off work (and had a couple of drinks) when my wife's grandmother texted her from outside in the car. She was upset and said MIL had stolen from her. We went to talk to Grandma, who
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • showed us her bank statement- over $4,000 had been taken and invested into various crypto coins. Turns out, Grandma had added MIL to her account a few months ago to help with car repairs.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • I was livid. I had warned everyone about crypto being a slippery slope. So, in a rash but (in my view) reasonable decision, I told my wife I was opening a new bank account with my next paycheck. My job doesn't offer
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • direct deposit, so I'll just cash the check and put it into the new account. No one else—neither my wife nor MIL-will have access. I already have a bank account, but again, MIL is listed as an authorized user on that one, from back when I trusted her.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • My wife cried. I reassured her this wasn't about her, it was about her mom. She doesn't trust her dad (nor do I), but she still trusts her mom. I could see her helping her mom financially-even if that meant using my account, and I can't risk that anymore.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • For more context: my wife didn't work for about four years while preparing for and recovering from weight-loss surgery. I supported her fully during that time. She recently started working again, and her paycheck is direct deposited into my current
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • account. Her name isn't on the account (legal reasons I'd rather not get into), but she has access to the funds. I told her if she wants to help her mom with her paycheck, that's fine. But my money? I need to protect it.
    via SqueakyPie8969-D
  • So, AITA for creating a new bank account that neither my MIL nor my wife can access?
    via SqueakyPie8969-D

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

family drama inheritance brother mother tradition siblings family feud favoritism wedding aunt in laws mother in law sister fiancé grandmother Father
Scroll Down For The Next Article