Widow Cutting Stepson Out of Inheritance in Favor of Sons Slammed: 'Unfair'

The internet has blasted a woman for planning to remove her stepson from the joint will she had with his father, leaving him nothing after his dad passed.

A disgruntled Mumsnet user explained in a post on February 21 that their husband is the eldest of three siblings, and the only one from his father's first marriage.

User WhereTheresAWillTheresAWant said that their husband was raised by his father's new wife, along with his two stepbrothers.

The post reads: "The new wife raised DH [dear husband] along with her two biological children, and they still have a good relationship today. DH's DF [dear father] passed away six years ago and all of his assets went to his wife.

"However, his DF had a joint will with his wife and all three children were included in the will, with all to be shared fairly once the parents had passed."

Unfortunately, the poster recently came to understand that this was no longer the case and the stepmom had amended the will so that the estate would be split between her two biological sons only.

"It transpires her plans are to leave the only assets to DH's two brothers; this would mean she would need to have the current will amended to exclude DH."

Although the Mumsnet user's husband didn't say anything to his stepmom at the time, they wrote that "it has blindsided him and he's feeling very hurt" by the plans.

"It does seem rather unfair but after all, it's his DSM's asset to do as she wishes. Would you be hurt by this? DH is not going to raise it and will carry on as normal, but he is understandably taken aback about this."

The splitting of a will can be a very contentious issue and is known to cause rifts among families. Daniel J. Siegel, a secretary at the American Bar Association, has been widely recognized for his legal knowledge when it comes to anything from small claims to high-profile disputes.

Siegel spoke to Newsweek about the seemingly unfair splitting of a will can result in difficult family dynamics.

He said: "Preparing a will requires people to make difficult decisions. At times, the decisions are easy, but they are also challenging when the decision includes choosing not to leave anything to a particular person.

"At times, there are valid familial reasons, at others the decision may be based on the relative financial situations of potential beneficiaries, and others are decisions made for other, or even no, valid reasons."

If someone is likely to be upset by the way a will is split, Siegel encourages people to be upfront and discuss it with family before their passing.

"Because wills are not public, and can be revised or replaced, I recommend that if a will is likely to cause concern, or even legal battles, it is best for the testator to address the issue with all impacted heirs," he continued.

"Of course, confrontations are not easy, and choosing not to is a way to avoid the conflict, or at least postpone it until after death when the conflict won't include the testator."

Since the Mumsnet user posted about their family dilemma, it has already received hundreds of comments from people who are curious about how this could happen, and some who empathize with the husband.

One person commented on the post: "I've got no idea on the legalities, but morally it's absolutely appalling."

Another Mumsnet user said: "It isn't fair, but it is very common for this to happen. It is your DH's late father's fault for not making proper arrangements."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.

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