Gay Woman Inherits Summer House, Causes Uproar By Not Letting Her Conservative Family Use It For Free For Weddings
Recently, a 28-year-old woman’s story caught everyone’s attention on the AITA subreddit. “So I am a 28-year-old woman, I am gay (important to the story). Now my mother is a single mother, she comes from a big conservative Christian family,” the author wrote.
The author wrote that after her mom had her at 16, they lived with the grandparents until her mother at age 25 came out as gay. “That was the limit for my grandfather and he disowned my mother and my mom cut all contact with her family.”
The woman lost her closest ones to Covid, and she inherited the family’s summerhouse from her grandma who wanted to make it up as much as she could before she died, too.
Now, the other relatives have reached out to the author expecting to have their wedding there for free but that’s not what the new house owner wanted.
The woman asks if she was wrong to refuse to let her estranged relatives have a free wedding at the family house she inherited
Image credits: Aubrey Odom-Mabey (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)
Image credits: throwawaygayhouse200
Family members fighting over inheritance is as old as history itself. Recent research found that there has been an increase in inheritance disputes reported annually since 1985. One of the authors, professor Stephan Köppe explained that there are four main reasons why relatives go to court and they include sibling rivalry, the legacy of divorce, owning a business, and wealth.
“Drawing from our court case examples, families should follow a few simple rules. Open and honest communication is essential. In many cultures, it is taboo to talk openly about death, but communicating your intentions and expectations during your lifetime will reduce stress and the possibility of unwelcome surprises for your loved ones,” prof. Köppe wrote in The Conversation.
Another key thing, according to prof. Köppe, keeping your promises is key. “In other words, don’t change your will at the last minute on your deathbed – this can be easily challenged in court.”
And finally, children who fear being left out should seek constructive, non-confrontational conversations during the lifetime of their parents. Prof. Köppe argues that building such mutual expectations during the lifetime is quintessential.
The author provided some more background information about the whole situation in the comments 
Many people showed their support for the author and said that she was right
Others, however, had a different opinion that they shared below
If the cousin had a lifelong dream, she should have picked up the phone and talked to the owner so that she could work out the logistics.
Yup. OP isn't saying, "No, you *can't* use the venue, at all," OP's just saying, "You have to pay for it, like any other wedding party. If you're willing to pay, great, we'll set a date, if you're so entitled you think you should get married here for free, then you're gonna be disappointed. Your call."
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Chuckling at the “Oh but FAMILY…” comments and “what grandma would want”. Just because OP is aware of the background doesn’t make these people more than strangers. They had decades to do so, but didn’t bother to reach out to establish a relationship until they wanted something and instead of asking politely, they demanded free access and became hostile when OP said “Not on that date, the house is already booked, but you can pick another date and pay like normal people do.” As for Grandma’s wishes, if she had any, they should have been stated in her will. OP had/has every right to treat her inheritance as she chooses.
I think there is a middle ground here that should have been sought. Something along the lines of 'you pick a date that is NOT booked, and pay the regular but not the wedding price, you pay some sort of insurance, and you can have your wedding there'. If they reject that, that is on them.
Yeah...I wouldn't charge my relatives full price even if I didn't know them, but then again I've never been ostracized by any of my relatives either so I can't accurately empathize with OP.
Load More Replies... If the cousin had a lifelong dream, she should have picked up the phone and talked to the owner so that she could work out the logistics.
Yup. OP isn't saying, "No, you *can't* use the venue, at all," OP's just saying, "You have to pay for it, like any other wedding party. If you're willing to pay, great, we'll set a date, if you're so entitled you think you should get married here for free, then you're gonna be disappointed. Your call."
Load More Replies... Chuckling at the “Oh but FAMILY…” comments and “what grandma would want”. Just because OP is aware of the background doesn’t make these people more than strangers. They had decades to do so, but didn’t bother to reach out to establish a relationship until they wanted something and instead of asking politely, they demanded free access and became hostile when OP said “Not on that date, the house is already booked, but you can pick another date and pay like normal people do.” As for Grandma’s wishes, if she had any, they should have been stated in her will. OP had/has every right to treat her inheritance as she chooses.
I think there is a middle ground here that should have been sought. Something along the lines of 'you pick a date that is NOT booked, and pay the regular but not the wedding price, you pay some sort of insurance, and you can have your wedding there'. If they reject that, that is on them.
Yeah...I wouldn't charge my relatives full price even if I didn't know them, but then again I've never been ostracized by any of my relatives either so I can't accurately empathize with OP.
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