Dad gifts 24-year-old kid an ‘inheritance’, only to later reveal it is actually the child support he refused to pay mom for years: ‘He hoarded the money and pretended to be the good guy’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 7, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

Have you ever gotten a really generous and exciting gift, only to find out that what was presented as a 'gift' to you was actually something that was already yours to begin with?

My older sister used to do it to me a lot. She would visit our grandma, for example, and our grandma would give her two little gifts every time she was there–one for her, and one for me. Except, when my sister got home, she kept both gifts to herself, just for a little while. Then, after a few days, and sometimes even weeks, she would come up to me with my grandmother's gift and say: 'Look what I got you!'.

I only found out about her little ploy after I called my grandmother one day, and she asked me about one of the gifts. My older sister got in so much trouble, and she was never trusted with passing along my grandmother's gifts ever again.

The story below is about so much more than a few Dollar Store gifts from a grandma, so keep scrolling to read more.

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    MER ERICA CA SAVE
    via c-George

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

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    My dad gave me an “inheritance” that was actually my own child support.

    I'm 24 now. When I was 18, my dad told me he had something special for me: the money he'd been setting aside for years as an "inheritance."
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    He made a whole production of it. Gave me a check, shook my hand, told me to spend it wisely. It wasn't a ton, just under $10,000 but it meant a
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    lot to me. I used it to pay for college deposits, rent, and a busted car repair. Last month, I ran into my mom's old friend at a wedding. She got emotional
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    seeing me and asked if I was still "getting that child support money your mom used to fight for." I said no, I never got any child support. She looked confused.
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    Turns out, my dad had been legally ordered to pay my mom child support for 12 years. And he did. But she never saw a dime of it. He
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    opened a bank account in my name, funneled the money there, and gave it to me at 18 like it was some gift from him.
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    He basically gift-wrapped my own f ing child support and called it generosity. I confronted him. He just shrugged and said, “I knew you'd need it more than your mom."
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  • This is wrong on so many levels, I don't even know where to begin. Not paying child support even when you could, letting your kid's mom struggle financially, and then giving the money like you are the kindest person ever?

    How can a person like that look at themselves in the mirror every day?

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    I feel sick. My mom worked two jobs. Skipped meals. Wore threadbare shoes so I could have new ones. And he let her suffer while
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    hoarding the money and pretending to be the good guy. I feel like I betrayed her without even knowing it.
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    Cheezburger Image 10525223168
    via AndreyPopov

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

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    Party_Cold_4159 It's a bummer you found out a bit too late, otherwise I'd suggest buying something nice for your mom. Could do that anyway.
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    Sounds like you should take this sh y experience and make it a positive one by thanking your apparently bada, mom.
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    My dad skipped the whole give me money part and sprang for the option of getting his license taken away until I was 18, then acted like that never happened.
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    Carrotgirl1 Just for the record, he still owes your mom that money. Child support doesn't work like that. I hope she still goes after him
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    4eversushi You didn't betray her, your dad betrayed both of you guys.
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    KittenKingdom000 That's ridiculous. Also, it's not too late to file with the courts if you want to be petty. The 10k was a gift, doesn't count legally. You can ask the courts to
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    garnish wages, etc. It sounds like your mom isn't here anymore, so if that's the case it would be filed by the person who handled her estate. Back
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    child support doesn't go away when you turn 18, my uncle still has warrants in my state for evading so he can't come back.
    via KittenKingdom000
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    clotterycumpy Aww, that's heavy. Not your fault though. He played both of you. If you feel up to it, maybe talk to your mom, let her know you didn't know. That's on him, not you.
    via clotterycumpy
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    overtly-Grrl What's insane is your mom was paying for things his check could've gone towards. I can't speak for how good your life is, but I know many families
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    that even an extra 50-100 will be everything. And to take your money away when your mom was paying way of two parents. Insane. I'm sorry OP this would get me too.
    via overtly-Grrl

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family drama inheritance aita kids mother siblings gift reddit story parenting child support family sister Reddit money parents children Father
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