Using a Will to do “Justice”

Some people use their wills to provide a type of justice from the great beyond.

Take, for example, the situation described in Annie’s Mailbox, Divorce hurt relationships between parents, daughters, Sept. 30, 2005.

Mother and Father were married and had two children.  After over 50 years of marriage, they decided that they could no longer tolerate each other and so they got divorced.

Recently, Father died and left Daughter One the bulk of her estate.  Mother has now changed her will to leave her entire estate to Daughter Two.  Mother describes this change as a way of doing “justice” but Daughter One thinks Mother is taking this step because she is upset because Daughter One helped Father after the divorce (e.g., took him to doctor visits, cooked meals for him, etc.).

Daughter One asked for advice on what to do.  Here is the advice supplied by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar:

It’s possible your mother is under pressure from your sister to make things “even.” Think how it must have hurt sis that dad favored you so much, justified or not.  You’ve been a caring and loving daughter.  Please don’t turn this into a fight over money.  Call mom, and tell her you love her and that she can do whatever she likes with her estate.  Ask if she will select one personal item for you, as a keepsake that you will cherish.