How sibling split mom’s inheritance so sister got a “worse deal” applauded

Internet users have backed a sibling who inherited their late mother’s expensive jewelry, letting their sister take the cheaper pieces, by concealing their knowledge about which pieces were worth the most.

The post was shared by Reddit user u/SecureMarsupial5400 on July 17, explaining that the siblings went through their mother’s jewelry before she passed away, each picking out the pieces they wanted.

As the poster works for a “luxury jewelry designer,” they had an eye for which jewels were worth something, and the ones that were cheaper “costume jewelry.”

The Redditor admits that when it came to dividing the jewelry up, the poster let the sister, Ashley, take “the biggest, blingy pieces,” knowing it was cheap and she was getting “a worse deal.”

The post reads: “My mother had a select few pieces of fine jewelry that were more dainty, so I let my sister think that I was getting the smaller leftover pieces. She’s always been preoccupied with getting the biggest and best for herself all our lives, so I let her think she was doing the same now.”

Ashley may have thought she got the better jewelry because it was more flashy, and the Reddit poster was happy to let her believe that. However, a recent family event caused a stir when an aunt “slipped out just how valuable the piece was.”

“My sister overheard and was livid. She insisted on going through my picks and wanted to re-split up the pieces,” the post continued.

“I said no, and she had a meltdown at the birthday party. Our brother said I was an AH for using my knowledge as a jeweler against family, but he always takes her side.”

According to attorney Scott Glatstian from Rosenblum Law, the best way of avoiding scenarios like this one is to create an estate plan in advance.

“Disputes among family members are all too common when it comes to distributing the assets of a loved one,” he told Newsweek.

“Sometimes the dispute is about differing opinions over the value of certain assets, other times the property has no tangible value, only sentimental. Avoiding family disputes is one of the primary reasons that clients come to me to create an estate plan.”

Glatstian added that this Redditor’s matter would have been resolved if the mom had put in writing who was receiving which jewels before she passed.

He continued: “Had the deceased worked with an estate planning attorney in creating her will, the attorney would have inquired about her family situation and probably picked up on the possibility of this dispute occurring ahead of time. Spotting potential issues like this is a major aspect of our work.”

Having other relatives weigh in has left the poster “feeling torn” about their behavior and they sought advice from fellow Reddit users. Fortunately, the post has generated plenty of reaction, with more than 5,700 votes and over 800 comments slamming the sister’s reaction.

Among the comments, one user wrote: “Your sister literally got the piece she wanted…now she wants different ones because of dollar signs? Not your fault she was blinded by the bling and is now angry at missing out on cash.”

Another person commented: “If sister had wanted to split things equally, she would have gotten everything appraised. Instead, she insisted on getting the big pieces, presumably because she thought that bigger was better. She got what she wanted, no re-trading.”

Newsweek reached out to u/SecureMarsupial5400 for comment via Reddit. We couldn’t verify the details of the case.

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