At the time, his brother didn’t say anything about the money he received, either. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks after his grandfather’s funeral that Matt called him up and stated they needed to talk.
Then, his brother wound up asking for $30,000 of his inheritance. He learned how Matt was supposedly drowning in debt, particularly after his sister-in-law’s pregnancy, and needed some financial assistance to “get back on track.”
His brother also swore that he wouldn’t have asked unless he was desperate.
Well, despite genuinely feeling bad about his brother’s situation, he wasn’t on board with helping Matt out. He’d already begun making plans for what to do with his newfound funds.
“I’ve been wanting to open a small woodworking business, something I’m passionate about and have been saving for over the years. This inheritance was the missing piece to make that dream happen, and I feel like my grandfather knew that when he left it to me,” he reasoned.
This led him to tell Matt no, and he offered to help his brother out in other, smaller ways. For instance, he suggested giving Matt budgeting tips or looking into financial assistance.
He realizes that, in hindsight, his response might’ve sounded petty. Yet he never intended to come off condescendingly.
Nonetheless, his brother was furious and called him selfish. He also got accused of valuing his “non-existent hobby” over helping out his own brother’s family.
Matt claimed that he couldn’t imagine the kind of stress they were under. Then, his brother filled his parents in on the situation, and they turned against him.
His mother told him that family should always come first and believes his grandfather would’ve wanted him to help his brother out.
“Now, I feel like the bad guy. I didn’t ask for this money, and I don’t want to destroy my relationship with my brother,” he vented.
