Woman Decides To Sell Late Father's House Despite His Widow Still Living There & Asks If She's Being Cruel
WBMUL | Shutterstock A woman took to Reddit to determine if people were right to call her "evil" and "heartless" for selling her late father's house while his widow still lives there.
She explained how she arrived at her decision in her post. She was surprised to learn that nearly her father's entire estate had been left to her, with only a small portion going to his widow. Really, the widow got just enough to keep her from contesting the will. But the father and daughter didn't have a good relationship, leaving her with a dilemma.
The woman didn't want any of her father's money or belongings because of their strained relationship, but her stepmother still lives in the house.
She said that not only does she not need her father's assets, but "given our relationship, I don't feel right using it." She and her father were "not close." Although they were in regular contact, she wrote, "I can't say either of us knew each other well."
Rather than keep it for herself, the daughter transferred most of the assets to her own daughter's trust fund. But her father lived in a different country, making it impossible for her to manage his house. Rather than "deal with the admin of his possessions," the daughter wrote that she wanted "the legal business done and to close the book on a very painful chapter, and grieve quietly."
Her stepmother is preventing the transition from being as smooth as she would like, though. She indicated that the house is "quite large," and that Penny never worked and was financially dependent on her father. This meant she "would then have to keep up the house and grounds while [Penny] lived there."
She is not willing to do so, "both because of the cost and the continued involvement with my father's life, which I do not want."
Her step-siblings called her 'evil and heartless' for selling the house, but commenters thought someone else was to blame.
After notifying her stepmother via lawyers of her intent to sell the house, she says she received "vicious and vitriolic messages from her kids." She went on to add that she understands their side of the situation, "but I'm not responsible for what my father decided to do nor ... the people or the mess he left behind."
A few Redditors also felt the woman should take a kinder approach to her stepmother. One pointed out that while she was in the right legally, she was skating on moral thin ice.
But most users agreed she's under no obligation to take care of Penny. As one put it, "Your dad structured his will like that for a reason. It’s none of your business." Another commenter suggested a compromise in which she could "give [Penny] and her family a chance to purchase the house before you list it," while another proposed a "rent to own" plan.
Nearly all users agreed that if there's one villain in this story, it's the woman's late father. One user called him "petty and vindictive" for all but leaving his widow out of the will, while another wrote, "It is very cruel to have left his wife ... completely vulnerable."
Legally, the daughter is completely within her rights to sell the house.
While some might take a harsher view of thinking this woman is kicking her stepmother out, she's really just evicting a tenant whose name is not on the lease. Real estate experts pointed out that it is perfectly acceptable to do this, even if that tenant is family.
Slava Dumchev | Shutterstock
Penny is, quite honestly, not her responsibility. And, if she didn't have a good relationship with her father, she likely doesn't have a close bond with his wife either. Perhaps Penny's actual children should step in to help her.
Or, as many Redditors said, perhaps this would never have been a problem in the first place if this woman's father treated his widow with care and fairness in his will. His daughter is not responsible for his faults.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
