Woman Who Refused To Give Her Stepsister Money For College Because They Are 'Not Sisters' Asks If She Was Too Harsh
She doesn't want to give money to a stepsister she doesn't consider a real sibling.
cottonbro studio / Pexels A woman reveals that she is refusing to give her stepsister money to help with her college tuition because of how little of a relationship they have.
Posting to the subreddit "r/AmItheA--hole" (AITA) — a forum where users try to figure out if they were wrong or not in an argument that has been bothering them — she wrote that her stepsister, Kerrie, lost all of her tuition money after it was stolen by her birth mom.
As a solution, she was asked to supply some of her own money to help Kerrie but ultimately refused to do so.
She doesn't want to give her stepsister money to help pay for her college tuition because she feels they aren't real 'sisters.'
In her Reddit post, she explained that Kerrie's mom had stolen all of the college fund money that was left by her dad.
"Kerrie was upset because she really wants to go to college, and what she wants to do [equals] eight years in college. She wanted to have as much help as possible but now it's all gone," she revealed.
Both her mom and stepdad, Kerrie's birth father, have been talking about what they are going to do now that Kerrie doesn't have any money for college. While they have pressed charges against Kerrie's birth mom, the money is still gone.
Recently though, the woman was approached by her mom and asked if she would be willing to share with her stepsister some of the money that her own dad had left for her right before he died when she was seven. Her mom claimed that she didn't "need to" but that it would mean a lot to everyone if she decided to.
"I told her I didn't want to share the money with Kerrie. Mom said okay, but then wanted to know why. I didn't tell her the whole truth initially and told her I just wanted to keep the money for [myself], since it was saved by dad, and what he wanted for my future."
However, her mom didn't buy that excuse and after a week went by, she asked her again. This time, she told her mom the truth. She admitted that she and Kerrie aren't even close, and she doesn't consider her a sister, and wouldn't want to help someone in such a big way if she didn't care about them or care that they're in her life.
"Mom told me she was surprised I felt that way. Then I pointed out she and her husband have known for years. That they used to point out how we never interacted like siblings."
Her mom didn't quite understand, pointing out that despite the two of them not being close, she still thought there was love between them.
"Mom then told me I was wrong to refuse to help for that reason. That whether I like it or not we are siblings/family and Kerrie deserves to have this," she revealed.
Her mom continued, telling her that she was being "selfish" and that her dad would not approve of her refusing to not help Kerrie with her college tuition.
Most Reddit users agreed that she was not in the wrong for refusing to split her money with her stepsister.
"Your dad saved the money for you and it's yours," one Reddit user wrote.
"Your mother should be ashamed for trying to guilt you into giving your stepsister part of YOUR college fund. If you and your stepsister aren't close, that's fine."
Another user added, "Your mother should not have said that the decision was up to you, and then tried to guilt you into sharing the money left to you."
"The comment about hoping your dad would be angry at you for not embracing Kerrie as a sister and giving her your money was really cruel."
A third user chimed in, "The only reason your mother asked for your reasoning was so that she could argue specifically against whatever it was that you said more effectively."
"I don't believe she wanted to actually understand your thought process, I think she just wanted to be able to try to present a case against whatever it was that made you want to hold onto your own money."
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics.