His Brother Died In A Car Accident, But He Doesn’t Want To Financially Support His Brother’s Kids And Thinks He’s Being Asked To Pay For His Brother’s Mistakes
Throughout this 38-year-old man’s life, he and his younger brother Jake, who’s 34, have always had a complex relationship. Jake was the favorite, and he was constantly expected to support his brother no matter what horrible decisions Jake made.
“My brother was always the reckless one, dropping out of college, getting into trouble, and having kids he couldn’t really afford with multiple women,” he said.
Then, about five months ago, Jake was in a car accident and actually died. In the wake of the tragedy, his brother left behind three children with two different mothers.
The loss was heartbreaking for his family. However, he admitted to believing that his brother’s own choices played a part in some of his life struggles.
“Jake had no life insurance, no savings, and left his kids in pretty bad shape financially,” he explained.
His parents aren’t really able to help Jake’s children out, either, since they are both currently retired and living on a fixed income. So, yet again, he was asked to basically bail out his late brother.
More specifically, his parents want him to “step up” and financially support his brother’s kids.
To be clear, he is financially stable, and some might even call him “well-off.” He runs his own business, and while he’s married, he and his wife are child-free – which allows them to live very comfortably.
That’s why his parents believe he should be responsible for taking Jake’s place. They keep urging him to set up college funds for the children and contribute to their living expenses.
mimagephotos – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
On top of that, his parents claimed he should help foot some of the two mothers’ bills because they are both seriously struggling.
“Here’s the thing: I don’t want to. It sounds harsh, but I feel like I’m being asked to pay for Jake’s mistakes. I don’t have a relationship with these kids, and I barely had one with Jake,” he reasoned.
“I’ve spent my whole life cleaning up his messes, and now that he’s gone, I feel like I’m finally free of that obligation.”
He also pointed out how he never asked Jake to have multiple children with different women and no future plans. His wife has taken his side on this, too, and doesn’t think they should have to sacrifice their own finances due to his brother’s “poor decisions.”
The rest of his family, on the other hand, is livid with him over this. He was accused of being heartless and abandoning his “own blood.” Not to mention, he was told that Jake’s kids would end up impoverished without his help.
Some of his friends agreed as well and stated he could at least help a little bit instead of being so “cold.”
“I get that these kids didn’t ask to be born into this situation, but I also don’t think it’s my responsibility to fix everything just because I’m the one with money,” he vented.
“My wife and I worked hard to get where we are, and I feel like we shouldn’t be expected to give that up for decisions we didn’t make.”
Nonetheless, with practically everyone against him, he’s not sure if refusing to financially support his late brother’s children really is a jerky thing to do.
Should he feel obligated to step in or not? What advice would you give him?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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