Neighbor Inherits Elderly Woman’s Estate After Family Fails to Visit for 13 Years, but They Claim She Was ‘Manipulated’

NEED TO KNOW

• A Redditor inherited their elderly neighbor’s house and money after years of companionship

• The late woman’s granddaughters, who hadn’t visited in 13 years, accused the poster of manipulation

• The neighbor planned to donate the money to charity as their late neighbor wished, but Reddit is divided on whether they should share it

A poster sought advice from the Reddit community after finding themselves in an emotional and unexpected situation involving an elderly neighbor’s inheritance.

The user explained that six years earlier, they had moved to a new country after receiving a job promotion and were focused on proving their worth at work. “When I arrived I looked for a house in a nice neighborhood and when I finally found it in my first week there was this sweet old lady which welcomed [me] with homemade cookies,” the poster wrote.

At the time, the move and new position left them with little time to socialize or meet people in the area. Still, the woman next door made an impression. “The only constant was this sweet old lady that from time to time was showing up and just wanted some company,” the poster said. That small act of kindness eventually grew into a meaningful friendship.

As the years went on, the pair became close. The poster shared that the woman’s husband died two decades earlier, leaving her the house and some money. When asked if she had any grandchildren, the elderly neighbor became quiet and sad, so the topic was dropped.

“Obviously during the years she opened more and more and I learnt that she had 3 granddaughters that were living at 20 minutes from her but she didn’t saw them since 13 years,” the user wrote.

It was clear that the distance between the woman and her family caused her pain. “She didn’t understood why and all she wanted was just some company and to see them from time to time,” the poster explained.

The Redditor emphasized that their friendship was genuine and had nothing to do with money. “I didn’t knew anything about her financial situation since she never talked to me about it and honestly I never cared,” they said, adding that they were already financially secure.

Over time, their bond grew through simple acts of care and companionship. “Like helping her out with her garden, she teached me some of her recipes and she officially become simply part of my life,” the user shared. During the holidays, they invited the elderly woman to celebrate with their family.

“It was hurting me to see her always alone,” the poster explained. “We developed this close relationship since I saw in her a bit my grandma.”

Over the years, the elderly woman’s granddaughters never came to visit or even called. “Not once her granddaughters showed up for her or just called her. Simply nothing,” the user wrote. The poster did what they could to fill that emotional void, spending time with the neighbor and making sure she didn’t feel forgotten.

Three months before the Reddit post, tragedy struck when the woman died at age 96 from health complications. “But again at her funeral literally no one of her family showed up,” the poster wrote. “It was kinda absurd that I was there with her old friends and her family didn’t even bothered.”

Two weeks later, the poster received an unexpected call. “I was contacted by her lawyer for her will, which obviously surprised me,” they wrote. The elderly neighbor had left everything — her house and her savings — to the poster. “In her will stated that she thought a lot about what she had and decided to give everything to me with the hope I would keep her house for when I would have kids and give the money to a charity organization for cancer research,” the user explained.

The inheritance came as a shock, and it quickly sparked conflict. “Suddenly her granddaughters remembered about her and their first move? To contest her will obviously because according to them I manipulated [her] into this,” the poster shared. The accusations were painful, especially after years of witnessing the family’s absence.

“I found out that she changed her will 2 years ago so well before her death and that everything is perfectly legal and she was in perfect mental health when she changed her will,” they noted.

Still, the revelation did little to calm the tension. “Apparently this only made things worst and the granddaughters started accusing me that I somehow manipulated [her] into this,” the poster said.

Frustrated and hurt, the user confronted them. “I pointed out how no one of them was there for [her] in this 6 years and before, how no one of them was even at her funeral and that they should be ashamed of themselves,” the Redditor admitted.

The granddaughters, according to the post, were especially angry because of the size of the inheritance. “The money [she] left me aren’t exactly small and the value of the house is extremely important since we live in an extremely good neighborhood,” the user explained.

Despite the accusations, the poster stood firm about honoring the late neighbor’s wishes. “I obviously want to honor her wish and to donate the money at the charity organization [she] mentioned,” they said.

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Still, they couldn’t shake the guilt and uncertainty that followed. The post’s title reflected their inner conflict: “AITAH for refusing to share the inheritance my old neighbor left me which was meant for her granddaughters?”

In the comments, one user asked about the elderly woman’s children, to which the poster replied, “To what she told me her daughter died of cancer and that’s all I know.” It added another layer of sadness to the story — the elderly woman had outlived her own child and been left behind by the rest of her family.

Throughout the post, the Redditor made it clear they never sought financial gain or personal benefit. Their connection with the elderly woman came from kindness and shared loneliness. They had treated her like family when her own family had not.

Now, faced with bitterness and accusations, the poster was left wondering whether respecting her late neighbor’s final wishes made them heartless. They concluded their post with uncertainty, writing, “Should I share it at least or should I just respect [her] wish?”

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