No it's not. It's only unusual to those of you who believing in hoarding wealth and assets. Some people are more generous and want to use their wealth to help others get a leg up, especially after they have spent a lifetime supporting someone who hasn't done anything but take and has nothing to show for all the opportunities they have been provided. Like, for example, Mary. |
+100000000 I mean really, how much can you give someone? And quite frankly, if Thelma was anything like my parents, which she does seem to be, there would have been plenty of times where she would have let Mary know... Hey, you are burning through your inheritance. Maybe you should go find meaningful work and put those two degrees I paid for to use. |
| OP do what you feel is best, I just know IF IT WERE ME, I would evict Mary and feel no guilt about it since she is settling in and has made no overture to you about the taxes, insurance or other bills associated with the property. She intends to stay there without taking on the responsibility. I would not assume that burden. She is 50. If she wants the house she can take her $100K use it as a downpayment, get a loan and buy it from you. She is not some downtrodden sad sack story and it's beyond time for her to get out into the world and earn her keep like most of the rest of us. |
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I'm not sure why you feel so strongly enough to call another poster an absolute idiot and claim it's the dumbest thing you have ever read, simply for suggesting that it's possible Thelma wasn't all cracked up as a mother, unless you have anger issues of your own. I love my mother, we have a wonderful relationship, which is why I find Thelma's behavior a bit odd. Maybe I just don't understand dysfunctional family dynamics.
But it's pretty clear OP spun out a fictional story so all this angst is meaningless. We've given her a lot of amusement along the way and it's probably time to bring it to an end.
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This is utterly ridiculous. They are SISTERS. So the idea that they would advise each other, and support each other, and accompany each other to write a will is not so far fetched. My brother and I are very close, and if my son were a leaching, live at home for 50 years, parasite, I would leave my estate to my blossoming, hard working, nephew too. People get tired of being taken advantage of, which it seems, is what Mary did her whole life. I really don't understand what is so complicated about this situation. 50 years of rent free living. 2 college degrees. 100k. To me, that is PLENTY of an inheritance. It's not anyone's fault that Mary wasted it. |
| So you're saying your grandma owned half the house and then suddenly she didn't because she moved out? |
I think calling a woman a bitch, that you have never met, over and over again, is idiotic, and reads as very stupid. And yes, there are a lot of dysfunctional families in America, and until you have lived in one, or have lived with children that push you past your limits, you will never understand what it takes to survive in that family. And that is not a knock on you. But the problem with a lot of people is because they can't relate to something, they simply believe it doesn't exist. Which is moronic in itself. It would be like me saying, "I can't imagine being gay, so they must not exist" or "they can be changed, with just enough therapy or religion".... |
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I suspect someone is a little defensive, no? Why are you so bothered when an anonymous person calls an anonymous person in what now seems likely a fictional story a bitch on an anonymous forum?
If the family was genuinely dysfunctional then I think there's merit in being generous to Mary. Life is too short to be bitter.
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Not defensive at all. It's an opinion. It was a post, simply meant to bash someone else. It is stupid. And the fact that it was a dysfunctional family is created by the fact that Mary was lazy and felt that she was too good to be in the workforce and work her way up, like most other people do... You know, building a career and not being handed something you haven't earned. I realize that might be a foreign concept to some people. And those people typically end up in the same situation as Mary. That doesn't mean that someone else should be "morally" responsible for bailing them out again. Full disclosure, I was probably the Mary in this story. I was entitled, lazy, and didn't like working crappy jobs. My family disowned me when I dropped out of college. They didn't just let me sit on my ass. And because of this tough love, I went on to earn two degrees (which I paid for through student loans - which I am still obviously paying back). I have a successful career, and I don't live off my parents. Furthermore, my parents have made it very clear, that my brother, my sister, and I will not inherit anything. My parents are donating their estate to charity. And I am totally fine with that. But I guess that makes my parents assholes and bitches for not leaving their kids anything. Simple fact of the matter is this. Parents don't owe their grown children anything. They spent tons of money raising them, trying to teach them values, caring for them, and than the child is supposed to grow up and go off into the real world. The obligation ends there. So, I really don't see why everyone believes that there is some moral standard to take care of 50 year old Mary. Mary has two degrees. So obviously, she is a capable and intelligent person. Mary's problem is that she is spoiled, entitled, and no one held her accountable for her choices, which allowed her to end up where she is now. If I were OP, I would evict Mary without hesitation. She had her whole life to figure out that she needed to be a responsible, contributing member of society. She chose not to. Anything that is happening to her, is her fault. Change the narrative. You live in a country full of people who are outraged at the Affordable Care Act because they don't believe that they should have to pay money for less fortunate people to afford healthcare. Yet, everyone wants to say that OP should pay to take care of Mary by settling an estate? Come on. All of a sudden, there is moral responsibility when it isn't hitting your wallet? Please. |
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Just a FYI I think Mary does work. As a waitress. They're usually pretty long and tiring jobs.
Everything we know was fabricated by the OP. Even if her story was true, we only have her perspective and there's validity in offering a different view of what the real dynamics might have been like. By the way I'd rather that Thelma's estate was settled on Mary so that she doesn't go on welfare and the rest of us have to subsidy her through our taxes. Maybe if the fictional Thelma had given the fictional Mary the kind of tough love you received from your parents Mary wouldn't be in this current situation. But then again, it's a fictional story so what's the point speculating anymore? By the way, your post just made me realise how much I am grateful for my loving parents and for when they supported me in times of difficulties (and my siblings too) and how they forgave us our mistakes. I've attempted to return their generosity. Other than the vacations I paid for, they've rejected the financial offers and keep saying it's what a family does. And I've learned from that. And we're an even stronger and more loving family now and we don't take it for granted either. That approach works for us although I'm sure it wouldn't work for everyone.
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You sounds like a good son/daughter. But how do you think your family would react if you weren't grateful and never learned? At what point, would they say enough is enough? I think that it's great that your family dynamic works that way, but I am sure that you had a role in that as well, by being successful enough to pay for vacations and offer money to show your gratitude. But, obviously, not all sons and daughters are that way. And when they are not, there is an immense stress and pressure put on the parents. They have to make decisions that are difficult because they love their children, but they can't just keep allowing them to fail. I know that the decision to kick me out of the house crushed my parents. But, really. What were they supposed to do? All I am saying is that the situation with Thelma and Mary is completely plausible. I know because I have been there. So, to call Thelma a bitch for finally saying, enough is enough, is IMO, stupid and idiotic. Parents get to choose spouses, but not offspring. And as much as they try, the offspring does not always turn out the way you wanted. And when that happens, sometimes you cut ties... Or in this case, gift the house to the kid you actually think deserves it. |
| I'm cracking up at the "detective" poster trying so hard to poke holes in this story. I have a feeling that some details were changed for obvious reasons a but the underlying story is true. |
This struck me as odd too... |
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I just finished reading the entire thread. Sheesh, it's an hour of my life I won't get back.
It started of plausible enough but the more Lara told us of Thelma's background, the house, the money, the family, the will, the more it started to read like a bad made for TV movie or novel, especially when combined with the inconsistencies in her descriptions of Mary and Roy's reactions to the will. The explanations didn't add up in a way that made sense, for if there was truth to them then Lara's initial explanations would have manifested themselves differently. While I don't doubt there are real life situations that are similar, this particular case, as described to us, doesn't ring true to me. In real life it's the estate lawyer and executor who would be the ones dealing with removing Mary from the house, not Lara. Five months have passed since the funeral, which is a long time and it doesn't seem that the lawyer has done anything, nor have Mary and Roy challenged the will or taken steps towards it. If the premise of the story was true, even if parts of it have changed or been embellished by Lara to elicit sympathy, I wonder if what really happened is that the family did approach her to agree to a settlement with Mary and Roy and she came here looking for reasons not to agree to it. If that's the case then she may very well have distorted the truth about the Thelma / Mary relationship to place herself in the best light possible. Who knows. We'll never know the truth, for that's the nature of internet forums.
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Right? So weirdly invested, and with a lot of time on their hands. It's also super annoying having the quoted text at the bottom of their post instead of at the top. |