Not everyone knows what they want to do in their lives. At the same time, there are those who know and are sure to stay on the path towards it no matter what. Even if someone tries to take it away.
In today's story, a teen, who is sure of what she wants to study, plans how she'll do it. Then she gets the rug pulled out from under her when her parents decide to give away a part of her inheritance that's supposed to cover half of her tuition. So, when her family members suggest she sue them, the girl is intrigued, but wonders if that would make her a jerk.
More info: Reddit
Sometimes even your best plan can be ruined by some people's selfishness and carelessness
Image credits: gpointstudio / Freepik (not the actual photo)
A young woman planned to pay for her dream job studies with a mix of a scholarship and a college fund she inherited from her grandma
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Then she learned that her parents were planning to use that college money to fund her sister's career, while expecting her to get a loan
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Stolentuition2024
This surprised and angered her, and so when her family members suggested that she should sue them, she was intrigued, but also felt kind of guilty
The OP had the idea that after graduating from high school, she’d go to school for the degrees needed to pursue a career in her dream field – meteorology. Nearly all meteorologists have bachelor’s and master’s degrees, but a PhD is becoming common among them too.
As you may know, in many countries studying at university costs a pretty penny. So, the girl was planning to cover her tuition with a mix of a scholarship and her inheritance.
An inheritance can exist in many forms. Some people leave their heirs real estate stocks, while the OP’s grandma, or Mamaw, left her grandchildren a college fund. The fund’s supervision went to one of the author’s mom’s aunts. Sadly, she passed away just 2 years after Mamaw, so the OP’s parents ended up in charge of it.
Now, here’s where things got messy. The OP’s sister Kelsey is a fine arts major. Instead of her final year at school, she was invited to the Junior Artist in Residence study program. Typically, in these types of programs, a person gets a chance to collaborate with artists, organizations, and communities. It provides an artist space and resources to support their artistic practice.
So, naturally, the family was happy that their member got such a chance. Until the question about finances came up.
Apparently, the young woman was planning on using Mamaw's money to cover her living expenses. Unfortunately, if she did this and the author used some of it for her college tuition, the fund would soon be empty. That meant there would be no money to pay for Kelsey's final year of school.
So, the parents came up with a plan. They would give what was left of the fund to the OP’s sister, while the OP herself could get a student loan. They would also take out a loan on the house themselves to cover the leftover expenses of their older daughter. Basically, everything would be given to Kelsey, while the author would have to fend for herself.
That’s when the evening was ruined, as it turned into a fight. After the parents, other family members came up with the idea of suing the OP’s parents for mismanaging her inherited college fund. Plus, they said she could get a lien on their house so they couldn’t use it to get a loan.
This made the girl wonder – is she a jerk for even considering this? Well, many people online didn’t think so. The parents mismanaged the money and now her dream career is at risk because of it.
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
At the same time, others had a few more questions about the whole ordeal. For instance, were there any legal conditions about how the fund was supposed to be spent, or maybe it wasn’t as big as everyone thought?
So, the 17-year-old came back with an update. In it, she acknowledged some legal inaccuracies (like about the lien on a house) she wrote in the original post. She also gave more context about her parents’ history with money.
Apparently, her whole childhood, they struggled with money, because they always mismanaged it. Her grandparents used to help with their bills, and Mamaw even left them the house. That’s why they weren’t the first people trusted with the fund.
Growing up in a family that struggles with money can affect a person for the rest of their life. When parents are stressed about money, children can internalize that anxiety. So, when they grow up, they might start spending recklessly or become overly financially restricted.
Well, we don’t know whether the author has been acting out in any of these ways yet, but from her update and comments it’s clear that she’s wounded by her parents’ financial carelessness. So, it’s normal that when she had everything planned out and they pulled the rug from under her, she got angry.
She’s not the only angry family member. Her brother, who this plan leaves penniless, is too. Just like her grandparents and aunt and uncle. Now, they want to move as quickly with the legal case as possible. Before the parents do something else stupid, like spending the rest of the fund or getting a loan on the house.
Meanwhile, the OP is set to go to college – she wants her dream career. Even if she has to take out loans to cover the costs, she’ll do it.
That’s where the story ends; there are no updates yet. So, we can’t be sure whether the family ended up suing the parents or not. Perhaps they all were able to find another way to solve this. All we hope is that the author is successfully studying for her career without letting all this drama ruin it.
Folks online assured the woman that suing her parents in this case wouldn't make her a jerk, as they clearly mismanaged the money and had a history of being careless with money
