Dear Quentin, My mother passed away three months ago after a long and horrible decline due to dementia. This devastated me and my immediate family. I also had to leave my job during this time. My mother passed away less than a month after being moved to a memory-care unit, and I am still in the depths of grief. Her sisters and their children came to the funeral.
If I said anything about how tasteless this was or how it was hurting me, they brushed me off as greedy and overly sensitive. One of my aunts currently has eight paintings from my mother’s house hanging in her house, if this gives you an idea of the extent of things. I have worked to accept and get over it. However, recently things have really escalated.
Am I crazy, or am I being preyed upon and coerced? Am I in the wrong if I tell them I do not owe them the car?Dear Exhausted, Contact an estate-planning attorney and a locksmith. If your parents are divorced and you are the only surviving child, your mother’s estate goes to you under intestate law — that is, if there is no will. It’s not only unethical for your cousin or aunt to plunder her house for valuables, it’s also illegal.
Inheritance theft and embezzlement is, sadly, all too common. Family members often take it upon themselves to rummage through a deceased person’s house, taking everything from jewelry to automobiles and anything else they believe they are entitled to. This is your inheritance, and these relatives are vultures and bullies. Report this looting to your attorney.
Requesting your car is the cherry on top. You’re 33. If you don’t start standing up for yourself now, you will spend your life being pushed around. You can tell people to back off. Simply say: “I just lost my mother. This is a difficult time for me and I need you to stop calling me.” If you receive more calls and Facebook messages, press the aforementioned “block” button. No explanations needed.
It sounds like a difficult situation. Maybe it would be helpful to talk to someone about it.
Sounds like a trashy family.
Who gives a shit