The grief of betrayal, mixed with the ambiguities of succession and responsibility, can become an almost insurmountable burden. Such is the case in the heartbreaking story of one woman who finds herself in an unforeseen quandary following the loss of her husband.
She explained what happened.
My husband died over three years ago, leaving me as a single mother of an eight-year-old. Since then, I’ve learnt a great deal about who he was. Let us just say that if he was still alive, we would not be married.
About six weeks ago, a process server arrived to serve him with a court order to submit DNA for a child. I gave him a copy of the death certificate and sent him away.
Shortly after, a woman walked up on my home, claiming that the child she was carrying was my late husband’s. Is it? I don’t know, and I don’t care. It resembles him, but it also appears to be young enough to have been conceived very, very just before his d3ath.
I informed her that Dad had di3d and directed her to his final resting place. She almost immediately began demanding “her half” of his estate. I smiled and informed her that half of nothing was nothing, and she was free to accept that.
Where I’ve been told that I may be a jerk is that, while there was no estate, there were assets that passed outside of probate. One of those assets was a rental home his parents gave us years ago, which was deeded to him and me as joint tenants with survivorship rights. In short, it became mine after he di3d.
I’ve already sold it, and the proceeds will go toward taking my child to college. Legally, I am fine (I have already discussed this with my attorney). While I feel bad for this child, I also have my own child to watch out for.
People stood on her side.
- “You were not a jerk. And for what it’s worth, that’s not a terribly uncommon scam for some reason. If you still have the papers, I’d look into if they were even legitimate.” O***Vegetable / Reddit
- “I would have said, “He died with a ton of debt. Let me get your info, so I can transfer half of it to you.” She would be out of there so fast!” New_Standard_8609 / Reddit
- “You need to focus on your child and your finances. The property legally belongs to you, and there’s no proof your late husband was the father of the other child. Your priority is your own child’s future.” Trick-Measurement-20 / Reddit
- “Unless she has a way to prove paternity, you have ZERO obligations to her or her affair baby. Even if he is, the rental property was in your name, so it was not your husband’s to give away. Remember, she chose to wreck your house. I would not open the door for her.” mi_nombre_es_ricardo / Reddit
- “Don’t even give a second of thought about this again. Just tell yourself, ‘It was just a scam.’ And never talk to that person again, get a restraining order if it comes to it. Having said that, if you ever are served with papers (i.e. an actual lawsuit has been filed) then lawyer up immediately and vigorously defend yourself.” Apprehensive-Care20z / Reddit
- “It’s between your late hubby and his baby momma. You received sole possession of all assets upon his death, and you owe nothing to the baby momma. She should have informed him she was pregnant with his child while he was alive if she knew. Why did she wait 3 years to come forward?” Funny247365 / Reddit
While the moral and ethical consequences of her choices may elicit differing reactions, they highlight a universal truth: that healing and moving forward can necessitate painful, deeply personal decisions.
