From real life. “My brother forbade me from contacting our father”: He thinks that after his death I should renounce my inheritance

My father was always my rock.

When my mother died, our family began to fall apart. My father, affected by the loss of his wife, withdrew into himself, and my brother, Michael, and I tried to put our lives back together. But the grief unleashed something in our home that I had never seen before – rivalry and greed.

My father had always been my rock. Although he was strict, I never doubted his love. After my mother died, I needed his presence even more, and he needed mine. I often visited him in his small house in the countryside, bringing him food, helping with small chores, and simply listening to his stories. Michael, however, had a different approach. He always thought I was my father’s favorite, and he was in the shadow.

One day Michael invited me to meet him at a café. I could tell from the doorstep that he was nervous. I sat down across from him and waited for him to start talking.

„We need to talk, Magda– he began, playing with the coffee spoon. – „It's about the father.”

– „What happened?Is something wrong with his health?– I asked, concerned.

Michał shook his head.

– „No, but I'm worried about what will happen after he dies. You know that my father has a house, land, and some savings. I think you should give up your share of the inheritance. I was the one who took care of the family finances, I was the one who made sure everything was in order.”

I looked at him in amazement.

– „Michał, what are you saying? Inheritance? My father is still alive! How can you think about such things instead of worrying about his well-being?”

– „You don't understand. It's not about money, it's about justice. You've always been the apple of his eye. Now it's time for you to step aside. If you keep visiting him so often, he'll definitely write everything off to you.”

His words were like a punch straight to the heart. I never looked at my relationship with my father through the prism of wealth. I visited him because he was my father and I loved him. But Michael didn't want to understand that.

– „I don't intend to give up contact with my father. This isn't a matter of money, it's a matter of family.”

Michał looked at me coldly.

– „If you don't listen, I'll have no choice but to tell my father that you're trying to manipulate him into leaving everything to you.”

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Michael, my brother, was trying to blackmail me just to guarantee himself the entire inheritance. I returned home angry and hurt. I spent the next few days wondering what to do. Should I talk to my father?? Or would it inflame the situation??

Finally, I decided to tell him the truth. When I sat down at the table with him, I told him about my conversation with Michael. My father listened in silence, his face betraying deep sadness.

– „Magda, I never wanted things to turn out this way between you. Property is just things, but you – you are my children. I can't let money compare you.”

– „Dad, I don't want anything. I just want us to be a family.”

My father promised to talk to Michael, but I knew our relationship would never be the same. Michael stopped visiting me and avoided contact, and although I still tried to take care of my father, I felt that the shadow of this situation was hanging over us.

After my father died, it turned out that his will was divided equally between us. However, Michael rejected his share, saying that he didn't want a “scraps”. We lost not only our father, but each other.

Today I know that greed can destroy the most beautiful bonds. My brother and I became victims of our own ambitions and fears, and the only person who suffered was our father, who wanted only one thing – for us to be a family.

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