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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Just told DH I will Divorce him over a fucking wedding Part two

716 replies

KeenHiker · 04/03/2024 09:52

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5018658-just-told-dh-i-will-divorce-him-over-a-fucking-wedding

I can’t believe the responses that I had.

Essentially I am going to that wedding so it won’t backfire on me and then as people have suggested reassess when everything has calmed down after Easter.

I am never going to look at MiL in the same light as she clearly thinks my daughter is an impediment to her own granddaughter.

Just told DH I will divorce him over a fucking wedding | Mumsnet

This is my first post. I think my head’s going to explode. BiL has shown no interest whatsoever in my daughters, not my eldest who isn’t my husband’...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5018658-just-told-dh-i-will-divorce-him-over-a-fucking-wedding

OP posts:
sunglassesonthetable · 06/03/2024 19:38

Yet she accepted that DD1 would be treated vastly differently relative to inheritance for DH and his family.

It's quite a normal will set up for people in this situation I believe. Why not?

Inheritance is perceived as very much off in the distant future, and as OP said she saw it.

Justkeeepswimming · 06/03/2024 19:47

@sunglassesonthetable

In the sort of family that DH comes from it really isn’t - they will try and offload it earlier to avoid IHT etc

She admits herself she was incredibly naive.

sunglassesonthetable · 06/03/2024 19:53

In the sort of family that DH comes from it really isn’t - they will try and offload it earlier to avoid IHT etc

Whatever. OP perceived it as something a long way off. And not an indicator of how her DD would be treated in the every day.

Justkeeepswimming · 06/03/2024 19:57

Unfortunately you can’t rely on perceptions and presumptions of how people will behave and what they will be responsible for.

All she can do now is make the best of it. It isn’t in either girl’s interest for the marriage to split.

sunglassesonthetable · 06/03/2024 19:59

Unfortunately you can’t rely on perceptions and presumptions of how people will behave and what they will be responsible for.

You have no idea what was and wasn't discussed tbh.

All she can do now is make the best of it. It isn’t in either girl’s interest for the marriage to split.

You have zero idea about that also.

sunglassesonthetable · 06/03/2024 20:01

Unfortunately you can’t rely on perceptions and presumptions of how people will behave and what they will be responsible for.

Said just about every relationship that didn't last. ( And some of those that did 😄 )

Surprisedbuthappy · 06/03/2024 20:09

WillYouPutYourCoatOn · 06/03/2024 18:11

Gaaaargh. @Justkeeepswimming pass the dessert cart.

@Surprisedbuthappy if I had a party, and I didn't invite Brian to it, and another day made a cake but didn't offer Brian a slice, avoided Brian if I saw him out and about, and told you Brian is not my favourite person, would you piece that information together and pretty easily conclude I don't like Brian. Or would you insist there's nothing to suggest that because I haven't declared to Brian's face that I don't like him. Would you feign complete surprise at the very idea Brian and I weren't the best of friends and by saying he wasn't my favourite person I could have technically meant he was my second favourite?

OP knew. It's a combination of sticking her head in the sand because it's a better life than before she married into the family, and thinking she'd hold enough clout as the mother of the little DD to change things later down the line.

Plus of course, all the actual stuff on @Justkeeepswimming post.

I'm not sure who Brian is or what he did to make you dislike him so much, but none of this has anything to do with OP's situation.

I just don't see why the fact that the wills were set up the way they were - and OP agreed to them - means that she was therefore signing up to her daughter being excluded from family events and treated as an outsider in perpetuity. I don't understand that argument, no matter how many times you and other people repeat it.

sunglassesonthetable · 06/03/2024 20:20

I'm not sure who Brian is or what he did to make you dislike him so much, but none of this has anything to do with OP's situation.

It's something to do with clever pigeons.
( not as clever as poster though )

sunglassesonthetable · 06/03/2024 20:23

I've heard of 'blended family' couples having this type of will set up but I've never heard of one child from a family being excluded from a wedding.

That's just weird. And nothing to do with wills.

Boydd · 06/03/2024 20:44

My dh met me when my ds1 was 6. We had another ds2when eldest was 10. My dh has from the moment we lived together and then married treated my ds as his own. My ds1 has severe mental health issues and my dh has slept on the floor in his room every night for a year to prevent him attempting suicide which he has attempted on numerous occasions. My ds1 will never be abled to function living on his own and and my husband has left everything 50/50 in his will to both sons as he always tells ds1 that he was the son he choose. That’s what a real step up dad should do 🤷🏼‍♀️

Justkeeepswimming · 06/03/2024 21:39

@Boydd

So sorry you are going through this with your son, it must be tremendously distressing. I really hope his situation improves.

You husband sounds an excellent father, and I agree with you that is what a step dad who sees his step child as one of his own would do.

Thinking of you coping with so much. 💐

Starspangledrodeopony · 06/03/2024 22:19

He’s pay for private school for the youngest but not the eldest…

Right there. He does not, and will not ever see or treat them the same. 💔

Tryingmybestadhd · 06/03/2024 22:56

Justkeeepswimming · 06/03/2024 14:33

@sunglassesonthetable

Generally families where all and sundry are welcomed into the fold don’t have much money to speak of. There are closer familial ties and more dependency between family members.

Where there is money, associations can be more distant - ie they live considerable distances apart rather than on the same street - and wealth building and retention is important.

Sorry I don’t agree with this .talking about older generations , my dad had a half brother from mum side only , when my grandfather married my grandmother he never adopted him but he as far as I know was wonderful to him ( we are talking 60 years ago so I imagine his family was not happy )he paid for his private education as he did to my dad too and made sure he was helped in getting a good job when he finished his education . A few years ago when my grandmother died my father was set to get everything , this because my nan passed away before so my grandad got everything and then he passed away . My grandad never made a will and I know the reason he never did is because he didn’t have too . My dad divided everything equally with my uncle from the considerable amount of money to their 2 houses . No grandchildren moaned , no wife’s moaned , nobody . Some older relatives called him silly , told him me and my sister would get less so they talked with us and both of us had nothing to say at the time . It was his money , as far as we could see my uncle was as equal as any uncle and I was and still am very proud my dad did that .
coming from money doesn’t really mean you must be selfish , it doesn’t mean your children should automatically expect family wealth either . That’s just a excuse

Pamelapamela2024 · 06/03/2024 23:51

Tryingmybestadhd · 06/03/2024 22:56

Sorry I don’t agree with this .talking about older generations , my dad had a half brother from mum side only , when my grandfather married my grandmother he never adopted him but he as far as I know was wonderful to him ( we are talking 60 years ago so I imagine his family was not happy )he paid for his private education as he did to my dad too and made sure he was helped in getting a good job when he finished his education . A few years ago when my grandmother died my father was set to get everything , this because my nan passed away before so my grandad got everything and then he passed away . My grandad never made a will and I know the reason he never did is because he didn’t have too . My dad divided everything equally with my uncle from the considerable amount of money to their 2 houses . No grandchildren moaned , no wife’s moaned , nobody . Some older relatives called him silly , told him me and my sister would get less so they talked with us and both of us had nothing to say at the time . It was his money , as far as we could see my uncle was as equal as any uncle and I was and still am very proud my dad did that .
coming from money doesn’t really mean you must be selfish , it doesn’t mean your children should automatically expect family wealth either . That’s just a excuse

Absolutely this.

appalling to see how so many posters here justify the horrendous treatment of a ten year old child on the pretext that “discussions” were not had, in laws can’t be expected to see her as related, it’s ok for the step father to make these distinctions because it wasn’t spelt out, inheritance is a birthright, denying DD2 ‘her’ money is toxic and damaging etc etc.

Disgusting. All of it.

sunglassesonthetable · 07/03/2024 09:09

“All I have ever wanted was that my DH treated my eldest well and on a par with any children we had together”*

This is the key quote from OP - it affirms very clearly that SHE longs for a scenario where her eldest is treated exactly the same in all respects as any joint children. However, legally her DH has made it very clear from the beginning that this will not be happening, it isn’t what he wants to do, and he perceives DD1’s father of failing in his responsibility and himself as stepping up as a Good Samaritan.

OMG Thank you for your services to script writing @Justkeeepswimming

Finally read through your essay. Assumption after assumption after presumption.

sunglassesonthetable · 07/03/2024 09:10

So DH sees himself as Good Samaritan???

The detail is Oscar worthy.

sunglassesonthetable · 07/03/2024 09:12

All he could do was slag my ex off and this was the thanks he got for stepping up.”

The DH has had to step up because the person who he views as having parental responsibility is a ballbag. Not out of all the willingness in his heart.

@Justkeeepswimming You even have access. to DH's heartfelt inner thoughts !!!😁🤣😁

sunglassesonthetable · 07/03/2024 09:23

You wrote a wonderful ( cringe ) essay full of assumption but you're still not showing me where OP ...

" knew what she was signing up for blah blah blah"as has been endlessly spouted on here.

Doing a will protects inheritance and is nothing out of the ordinary, especially in blended families.

you have NO idea if OP's wish for " equal and fair " was an agreement or a hope.

But the essay was a giggle. ☕️

Surprisedbuthappy · 07/03/2024 09:26

@sunglassesonthetable
I've given up! We're too stupid for this thread obviously. In my case, it must be down to my inferior state school education.

LadyBird1973 · 07/03/2024 09:27

I think that when you are a decent person, who would not discriminate against a child who had been in your family for most of her life, you kind of assume that other people are also decent. It doesn't occur to you that the man you love would actively differentiate between the two children he is raising, when it comes to their childhood experiences.
I think OP wouldn't have married her h without making clear that she expected him to treat her dd the same as any dc they had together. It's victim blaming to say this outcome is her fault because she picked a crap partner first time around or because she didn't feel it necessary to get agreement with new dh written in blood!

Pamelapamela2024 · 07/03/2024 09:35

LadyBird1973 · 07/03/2024 09:27

I think that when you are a decent person, who would not discriminate against a child who had been in your family for most of her life, you kind of assume that other people are also decent. It doesn't occur to you that the man you love would actively differentiate between the two children he is raising, when it comes to their childhood experiences.
I think OP wouldn't have married her h without making clear that she expected him to treat her dd the same as any dc they had together. It's victim blaming to say this outcome is her fault because she picked a crap partner first time around or because she didn't feel it necessary to get agreement with new dh written in blood!

This

sunglassesonthetable · 07/03/2024 10:09

@LadyBird1973

Utterly utterly reasonable.

InterIgnis · 07/03/2024 10:40

Of course there will be examples of someone with wealth sharing that with stepchildren/siblings, but those cases are, in my personal and professional experience anyway, the exception to the rule. Bloodline planning, and yes it is referred to as exactly that, is and has been commonly utilised by those with the means do so. It preserves generational wealth so that it remains generational wealth. If some want to choose to share that’s their right, but equally choosing not to is just as valid a choice.

The reason the will has been repeatedly mentioned is that it clearly demonstrates the difference in how he considers the two. Another thing that demonstrates this is that, despite this being a child that has no relationship with her father, there is no question of adoption being on the table. This is also a man that completely accepts the position of his parents, and will not challenge them on it. These are things OP was aware of going on, but even if she wasn’t, as someone responsible for her child it was absolutely on her to find out exactly what his position was.

He has stepped up for this child beyond anything her biological father has provided, and she may view him as her father, but that doesn’t make him her father. He’s made is clear there are limits to what he is willing to provide to her, and OP, as well as anyone calling him and his parents every type of dickhead that walks the earth, have little choice but to suck it up.

sunglassesonthetable · 07/03/2024 11:05

He’s made is clear there are limits to what he is willing to provide to her, and OP, as well as anyone calling him and his parents every type of dickhead that walks the earth, have little choice but to suck it up.

Of course he is within his rights. He's made himself clear.

But OP is within her rights to be shocked and upset. As she is, hence her post.

Wether OP 'sucks it up ' or not is up to her. And tbh she doesn't have to. She has some hard thinking to do.

The rest of us? Who cares?

Surprisedbuthappy · 07/03/2024 11:12

InterIgnis · 07/03/2024 10:40

Of course there will be examples of someone with wealth sharing that with stepchildren/siblings, but those cases are, in my personal and professional experience anyway, the exception to the rule. Bloodline planning, and yes it is referred to as exactly that, is and has been commonly utilised by those with the means do so. It preserves generational wealth so that it remains generational wealth. If some want to choose to share that’s their right, but equally choosing not to is just as valid a choice.

The reason the will has been repeatedly mentioned is that it clearly demonstrates the difference in how he considers the two. Another thing that demonstrates this is that, despite this being a child that has no relationship with her father, there is no question of adoption being on the table. This is also a man that completely accepts the position of his parents, and will not challenge them on it. These are things OP was aware of going on, but even if she wasn’t, as someone responsible for her child it was absolutely on her to find out exactly what his position was.

He has stepped up for this child beyond anything her biological father has provided, and she may view him as her father, but that doesn’t make him her father. He’s made is clear there are limits to what he is willing to provide to her, and OP, as well as anyone calling him and his parents every type of dickhead that walks the earth, have little choice but to suck it up.

Please explain again, in really simple terms for the state (un)educated amongst us, why bloodline planning, asset protecting or any of that stuff justifies excluding the girl from a family wedding, talking about her like she's a hindrance, and having such vastly different approaches to her and her sister's education?

That's the behaviour that makes these people dickheads (in my opinion, blah blah) - not the way that they have chosen to set up their wills.