Woman, 27, who grew up 'very poor' and has $40,000 college debt asks if she's wrong to disown her mother after finding out she spent $150,000 inheritance her grandparents left for their grandchildren's education

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A woman who was left with $40,000 of student debt after growing up in a 'very poor' household has been left outraged after discovering that her mother blew an inheritance left by her grandparents in order to fund their grandchildren's education.  

The 27-year-old, from the US, shared the details of her story on Reddit revealing how she overcame her 'very poor' background and low high school grades to get a science degree that left her struggling with tens of thousands of dollars in debt - only to discover she should have a had a share of $150,000 inheritance.

Her mother's betrayal came to light during a conversation with old family friends, who were the executors of her grandparents' will - and to add insult to injury, the woman says they are now upset with her for confronting her mom about the inheritance and cutting off contact with her. 

But while the woman, who did not reveal her name, faced backlash from her family friends, commenters online were quick to voice sympathy for her plight, with many slamming her 'pitiful' mother and urging her to seek legal advice. 

The 27-year-old woman recently discovered that her grandparents left her a significant inheritance - but that her mother had secretly blown all the money (stock image)

The poster shared details of her story on Reddit - revealing that her mother had spent all of her and her siblings' inheritance money

According to the post, the writer's mother, now 53, who has five children, had a very difficult life and 'made a lot of bad decisions'. 

'We grow up very poor (VERY poor) with our mother always gone or bringing back strangers to party, leaving me to raise the youngest two,' she recalled. 

'That being said, I loved my grandparents dearly and they loved us kids back, and as much as they struggled with my mom, they were nothing but loving towards her from what I understand.'

She added: 'My grandparents died when I’m in 5th & 7th grade and this crushed me. I wasn’t able to articulate any of it at the time, but that’s when severe depression rolled in. 

'From there on, school was very difficult for me, as well as my home life. I ended up falling pretty deep into my sorrow and stopped going to school around my junior year of high school.'

Despite these struggles, she decided to leave home, aged 17, and moved to a bigger city. She finished high school with a low grade (a GPA of 1.75) but signed up for community college under the guidance of two teachers.

She eventually graduated with a degree in science, and though she had accumulated $40,000 in debt, she accepted this as a necessary cost of education.  

However, her opinion changed after reaching out to some close friends of her grandparents, in a bid to 'get a better idea' of what her grandparents had been like when they were alive. She referred to this couple as 'the Johnsons'.  

Many people felt the Johnsons had played an unwanted role in the drama, saying it was unfair to share the information, and not expect the woman to confront her mother with it

She said: 'In conversation, it came out that [grandpa] left a $150k inheritance for the grandchildrens’ education. However, three years later (around 2010) my mother came to the Johnson’s and confessed to them that "she blew" all the education money. 

'My relationship with her was already strained, but this really crossed a line for me. I emailed her telling her I knew what she did & told her not to contact me again. 

'The Johnson’s quickly got in contact with me telling me it was a long time ago and she’s improved a lot since then and that I shouldn't have told her they told me. I think I have the right to confront her, but they say I violated their trust.'

Commenters urged the woman to seek legal advice or find out exactly what her grandparents said in their will to see if she has any recourse 

Commenters were quick to advise the woman to contact a lawyer and to find out exactly what the terms of her grandparents' wills were. 

Some pointed out that the grandparents should have set up trusts to ensure her mother couldn't spend the money, and urged her to find out the exact terms of the will.  

Others blasted the Johnsons for bringing up the information, then being angry when the woman confronted her mother.

One Redditor wrote: 'It's fundamentally unfair to burden you with a major piece of your personal history and then not let you confront the person who harmed you. 

'While I’d say you have a right to know, fundamentally they could’ve just kept this burden to themselves if they wanted it to stay secret. Once you release such secrets to the world, you don’t get to determine how people handle them going forward.'  

One Redditor got quite heated, writing: 'The Johnsons and your "mother" are literal trash….. You have had a hard life and I applaud you for persevering and making something of yourself, that is awesome.' 

 

The vast majority of commentators were extremely sympathetic to the original poster's plight - with multiple people accusing the mother of stealing the inheritance

Some accused the mother of theft, with one writing: 'She tried to hide it and had made no effort to make it up to you she has no remorse. And I'd bet if she had more money to steal, she'd still be doing it.'  

Another added: 'NTA. My husband's parents did this to him. His grandma left him 10k in her will when he was a minor. They took it and spent it on their house they were never able to keep up with. 

'They lie to him all the time and tell him she didn't do that but his aunt told him the truth. It's sad because they continue to lie and had to sell their house and move into an older RV because they were a month away from foreclosure. It break's my heart knowing how they treated and continue to lie.' 

A cynical user said they weren't even surprised by the story, as money can make people behave badly. They wrote: 'NTA. An inheritance brings our the very worst in families. I hardly find your story shocking and I should be outraged.' 

Some commentators felt the original poster should view the situation from the mother's point of view, with one writing: 'But from another perspective - your mum was very poor with five young children. There is hardly a person in the world who wouldn't have moved through that 150k.' 

Another, more brutally, wrote: 'OP wasn’t left $150k but it was for all the grandchildren. 

'It is gone, OP can speak with mother or hold bitterness. I would suggest therapy.'