My aunts inheritance choices seem to have destroyed my family

And she still gave him £50k when she didn't have to.

As well as her cousins. And parents. And offered same to her grandparents.

She spent time with Aunt, she enjoyed the same things Aunt did, almost like she was a favoured goddaughter, not just niece.

While I suspect everyone posting otherwise would actually be jealous if it happened in their own family and they were left out in this manner, at the end of the day, AUnt was within her rights to do it and you have to find a way to live with it OP. Or lose your daughter.

YANBU.

There are certain weird tropes on MN that posters have, and inheritance threads seem to be one of them. If you had allowed voting, you would have seen far more not thinking you were unreasonable (I think).

Clearly, one member of an ordinary family inheriting close to £2mio is going to cause issues. Do you really expect her brother to feel genuinely happy for his sister and not even to think of the effect it would have had had she split the inheritance equally? It just isn’t human nature.

In addition, I am not sure it is healthy for a 24 year old to get that much in one go. It will clearly have an effect on her ambitions.

Of course, her aunt can leave her money to whom she chooses but choices have consequences, and I don’t think she made a good choice.

Perhaps the aunt genuinely didn't realise how grabby and greedy the rest of the family were? She may have assumed that they would understand, given that the dd was the only one she was close to. She might even have thought that they would be happy for her niece, instead of stamping their feet about the missing out on their perceived entitlement.

I don't think all families would react like this, and I don't think that everyone assumes the worst about their relatives either.

YABVU & greedy & nasty. You have all treated your daughter abhorrently.

Wow and you allowed your daughter to be spoken to like that? No wonder she walked out, wouldn’t be surprised if she cut you all off

This happened to someone I know a few years ago but he did not share any of it with his siblings/cousins. It broke up the relationships with all concerned. Aunty could have thought about when the will was being drawn up.

The audacity 😂

You’ve lost your daughter, I suspect.

She’s been pumped for cash, treated with suspicion and jealousy by her family, and now they’re you’re making jokes about her money and greed. It’s disgusting.

The aunt left it to her. No one was owed anything. It was the aunt’s money. Your daughter invested time in her relationship with her and she doesn’t have to give anyone a damn thing.

I can’t put my finger on why, but the way you talk about your own daughter is…..wrong.

Yep - the final revenge!

I think it was the wrong thing to do but it is what it is and your daughter didn't have to share a penny- you come over Asa family of entitled grabbers- maybe the aunt thought this too !!

Both my kids now earn more than me. They are always turning up in new clothes. Even worse they go on holiday without me 😡

Interesting responses. I don't think they are being greedy. I actually think the daughter is. In her situation, I'd at very least share it equally with my own siblings after giving an amount to other family members. Then, at very least, her own family is all on an even footing. I wouldn't prefer a flat in Hyde Park over seeing my own brother comfortably off, if my wealth had come from a random family windfall that had nothing to do with my own hard work.

It's sad that the aunt couldn't foresee how much bitterness this might create.

Why? So some overpaid CEO can enjoy the Aunt's money instead? The DD was close to the Aunt and sounds like they shared a really lovely close bond with each other. And the Aunt left her everything because of that, which was her choice.

By who?

I’m not surprised she left. Must have felt ganged-up on and hounded. Poor girl.

You all (other than aunt and DD) come out of this looking very badly. Cannot believe you're all so fucking greedy.

At a family Easter gathering, how did everyone expect the daughter to react when they called her greedy and made unpleasant jokes about her? Did you all expect her to then give you more money on the spot? Did you think she should take the comments and stay there in an atmosphere where everybody resents her? Just what did you think the outcome would be? You've made the choice to drive her away, to let her know that she isn't welcome anymore.

And she gave you all £50k apiece! The mind boggles at how you can still treat her like that and feel justified.

Your DD has already been far more generous than she needed to be.
If she is reading this and realises the thread is about her she Will probably wish she hadn't bothered.
What a bunch of grabbers you seem to be

Op its not your inheritance it never was. Get over it and stop questioning your adult daughter on what she does with her money. She had a close relationship with her great aunt and has been pretty generous. I wonder if it was your idea that she share her money with other relatives? Maybe she did that to try and keep some kind of relationship together. I think she may have wasted her time and money. You don't deserve it, you never did.

Sounds like aunt put OP and family in their place for the final time!! Grabby grabby greedy guts.

I very much doubt your brother or the cousins would have divided the inheritance equally or in bigger amounts than your DD did, if any of them were the sole inheritor.

They can easily say now they would have but in reality, they wouldn’t have.

People getting left out of wills/receiving a lesser amount in comparison to other family members is very, very normal.

So your daughter went against your aunts expressed legal wishes, and went out of her way to give away £300, 000 that your aunt didn't want any of you to have, and you are all bitching ye didn't get more?!
As a parent, yes I could understand worrying about the effect the money could make to my children's relationship but wouldn't have been expecting the money for myself! Your DD was essentially the daughter your aunt never had, she's the only one she cared about and the only one she wanted to benefit from her estate, and now you are sitting back letting your DD be bullied out of the family she gave money to because you feel you didn't get enough and are jealous of a 24 yr olds new wardrobe.
You need to grow up and ban all mention of money at family gatherings.

I think the aunt really should have left something to the others, to avoid this situation. I also would have given more, especially to my brother if I were the dd.

However, you can only deal with what has happened. I would give your son your part op.

@alrightjackie I don't believe for a second that the aunt didn't know this was going to cause a family fall out. That is what I am saying and also I don't agree with the aunts choice. We are all have different morals though... you do you.

Sounds like your aunt was a spiteful woman intent on creating trouble, hate and upset from beyond the grave