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SIL and money issues

1000 replies

ChopinandChampagne · 24/01/2021 13:01

I recently lost my DH and I thought that it would be nice to give some money to my DGDs, both toddlers, to set aside for their future as a gift from him. Realistically, they will not remember him, but I thought that if they have some money to spend on travel or driving lessons or to help with their university costs or whatever, they would think of him and know how much he loved them, even though he didn't live to see them grow up.

I did some internet research and the suggestions were for a Junior Isa, which a parent would need to set up, and I would then pay into, and the child could access at 18. Alternatively, a savings account, which I would be able to set up as a grandparent, as long as I produce a copy of the birth certificate, which the child can access and take over at 16.

So far, so good and, I thought, relatively uncontroversial, so I suggested it to my DD and said that I wanted to give each of the DGDs £10k from DH and the options. I said that I wanted it to be a separate account and that suggested that she open a Junior Isa or that I should open a savings account. Her response was that she would have to discuss it with SIL and I said fine, thought no more it. Then, I sense that there is a bit of tension and DD says she wants to set up a telephone call with both her and SIL one evening, to discuss the matter after the DGDs are in bed. This was a text, so I reply saying fine, is now a good time, but DD said not, but we could schedule a couple of days later, but only if she has completed her coursework for her studies.

Then, a couple of days ago, I receive an email from SIL, from whom I never hear anything direct, advising me that if I really want to put money in an account, he will open one, but that he thinks that it is a bad idea, as inflation will erode the money. He thinks I should invest it in gold bullion or some other specific account (he says he has recently opened one for DD), and he provided links to various websites.

The tone of the email comes across, not as friendly advice, but telling me what to do. I have said that I will have a rethink, but I am worried about offending him if I don't follow his advice. I feel that he is trying to control how I invest the money. He refers to it as my wanting to invest for the DGD's future, which it is partly, but it is also about wanting the DGDs to remember or be reminded of DH. I don't really want to invest in bullion, as I think it's a bit volatile, and the idea of a bank account is that the DGDs would get the bank statements and maybe learn how to save.

Does anyone have any advice on how best to handle this diplomatically? There is quite a bit of history with SIL (Lobster Boy for those who remember my previous threads), but things are on a reasonably even keel at present and I currently have a good relationship with DD, which I don't want to upset. She says that there is no rush to decide how best to invest the money, it is important to get it right.

OP posts:
tibradden · 13/07/2021 09:52

If you're a UK national living in Ireland, you're entitled to state healthcare in Ireland on the same basis as an Irish citizen. You can access state health services if you're 'ordinarily resident' in Ireland. This means that you have lived or you intend to live in Ireland for at least a year.

CraftyYankee · 13/07/2021 10:51

Sending you pictures of meat? That's seriously bizarre. 🤢

Justilou1 · 13/07/2021 11:41

Do you think she knows that you DON’T like the gory photos @ChopinandChampagne? This seems really sick to me. Why haven’t you asked her to please stop? You really are afraid to set boundaries.

CharityDingle · 13/07/2021 14:54

@Justilou1

Do you think she knows that you DON’T like the gory photos *@ChopinandChampagne*? This seems really sick to me. Why haven’t you asked her to please stop? You really are afraid to set boundaries.
Exactly.

Knowing that you will open photos, expecting to see ones of the children...that sounds particularly nasty, and quite sick.

And who wants to see photos of meat/ blood etc. Hmm I wouldn't open photos, and would tell her to stop sending them. Someone is getting a kick out of that, imo.

Justilou1 · 14/07/2021 03:30

This is what I mean… it’s akin to receiving dick pics.

CraftyYankee · 14/07/2021 07:04

You just used the phrase "dick pics" to this super elegant OP? 🤯

ChopinandChampagne · 14/07/2021 08:26

She hasn't yet sent a picture of a nut roast Grin

I am sure that she doesn't send the photos to offend me, as a lot of our chat is about food, what she is cooking, baking etc. I just find it strange that she could change from being a super strict vegan to consuming a squirrel that the dog has brought in, and strangling quails, as well as researching how to butcher pigs. I suppose it is preparation for the smallholding and living off the land.

I am feeling quite low about it all at present, to be honest. I think that all that has happened, especially the loss of DH, has knocked my confidence a lot. I feel such a failure that DD1 didn't want to share her marriage or birth of DGD1 with me and DH and her sisters. Now, just as I was hoping to build a relationship with the DGDs, it looks as though they will be moving even further away.

However, I have just signed a birthday card to post to LB, with a nice message, as I am trying to move forward and be positive, and I don't want to turn into a bitter old lady!

OP posts:
Billybagpuss · 14/07/2021 09:46

That’s all you can do chopin it is all very odd I can’t process it very easily so goodness knows how you are coping. I think in your shoes that book would seriously have upset me.

Keep doing what your doing and enjoy dd2 and 3. How is dd2 has she had any news?

Mix56 · 14/07/2021 09:59

I think I would say, "For a former vegan, how you think taking & sending pictures of lumps of dead animal is inconceivable".
Sorry, I think she is mentally unwell.

LadyEloise · 14/07/2021 12:41

Could it be LB sending them to upset you clutching at straws ?

I actually think you are too nice to them both, too soft but I absolutely know where you are coming from - the love for your daughter and her children.

So there's contact every day - on their terms - until you go against them. Sad

Try and detach.
She needs to have a reality check rather than a cheque - are you still paying the phone bill ?
If you keep pandering to her/ them nothing will change.

I hope your DD 2 is doing well.

legosnowqueen · 14/07/2021 17:19

Sorry to see that you are struggling OP, your love for your DDs & DGDs and of course your DH shines through all your posts. All any of us can do when our loved ones behave in an unexpected or hurtful way is roll with the punches - you're so generous & dignified Thanks

RandomMess · 14/07/2021 19:29

DD1 is probably just self-absorbed. That does fit with her not accepting any responsibility for her behaviour over things.

It's quite ironic that LB disses having to work for others yet they are looking to take on a run down small holding - that's kind of like needing to work 18 hours per day...

SpringCrocus · 15/07/2021 02:23

A smallholding, with livestock?
20 + hours per day at certain times of year.
I know!

NeilBuchananisBanksy · 15/07/2021 06:41

@ChopinandChampagne

She hasn't yet sent a picture of a nut roast Grin

I am sure that she doesn't send the photos to offend me, as a lot of our chat is about food, what she is cooking, baking etc. I just find it strange that she could change from being a super strict vegan to consuming a squirrel that the dog has brought in, and strangling quails, as well as researching how to butcher pigs. I suppose it is preparation for the smallholding and living off the land.

I am feeling quite low about it all at present, to be honest. I think that all that has happened, especially the loss of DH, has knocked my confidence a lot. I feel such a failure that DD1 didn't want to share her marriage or birth of DGD1 with me and DH and her sisters. Now, just as I was hoping to build a relationship with the DGDs, it looks as though they will be moving even further away.

However, I have just signed a birthday card to post to LB, with a nice message, as I am trying to move forward and be positive, and I don't want to turn into a bitter old lady!

Be careful that you aren't trying to turn yourself inside out to appease them and keep them onside. You are constantly walking on eggshells which is not healthy.

It's them not you. Be yourself and nothing more. Kind words in a card are far more than LB deserves although I can understand why you are trying. They do still seem to be using you for the money though I'm afraid to say.

Focus on your other daughters. If they do move to Ireland, so be it. It's a foolish plan but you need to let them crack on with it (and fail). Don't finance anything.

I also think the meat photos are extremely sinister.

JustATypo · 15/07/2021 07:58

Hi OP, I admire your kindness, patience and tolerance. Very difficult to have your own child treat you in this way, especially since only some of her behaviour can be the consequence of her relationship with LB, she is still her own person underneath it all.

I do however think there will come a point when you need to take a step further back, partly to protect your own mental health as it can’t be sustainable to continue in this way, always on eggshells and not knowing when contact will be cut. However another reason is to protect the mental health and wellbeing of your other two daughters, as I am sure your other daughters would be well aware how this is affecting you even if they do not let on, due the way you are describing your family dynamics. It would be painful for them, knowing the consequences it has had and continues to have on you, yet they very possibly do not feel the way you feel about their sibling, I think it is easier for siblings to separate emotions in a sibling relationship than one that is a parent/child relationship. A sibling relationship is easier to fracture and I do not know if your daughters can ever have the close bind they had as children given the way DD1 is behaving and the looming presence of LB.

Like others, I also think you are being used DEFINITELY by LB but possibly also to an extent by your daughter as a source of money. If that tap was turned off I fear your DD1 would cease contact partly thru the brainwashing of LB but also of her own accord. If her own father’s death wasn’t enough of a shock for her to remember that she should be treating you with love and care, I do not think the eggshells will ever go away. Please think of yourself and DD2 and DD3, before DD1.

LadyEloise · 15/07/2021 08:47

NeilBuchananisBanksy and JustATypo I agree with your posts.

OP please take care of yourself.

SecretDoor · 15/07/2021 09:12

I agree with the last few posters. Your DD1 doesn't sound particularly likeable since she has chosen her life with SIL so although you love her the relationship will never go back to what it was. Your constant walking on egg shells is palpable and this isn't a healthy thing especially as you are constantly grieving for your lovely DH. You are exhausted agonizing over every text and call. One little throwaway comment and the cards tumble down.
I would stop trying so hard and just stay gently in the comforting presence of your other DDs and friends.

DD1 has made choices and you can too.

I would also stop thinking about fairness regarding inheritance and money. Your girls will never be best friends again.
Leave a legacy to DD1 say 100k and split the rest of your estate between DD2 and DD3. This means SIL can't argue about valuations, furniture, house sales etc. This will make it easier for DD2 who may have to support DD3 with her ASD long term.

Justilou1 · 17/07/2021 02:09

I really want to help you through this, but I feel like you are feeding the beast and encouraging the behaviour because she thrives on the power trip and loves that you fear losing her and the girls. The reality is that she would ping back like a rubber band if YOU pulled away. You two are so thoroughly enmeshed. I know I am hard, but I think you need to work on establishing who you are as an individual and that terrifies you.

Sssloou · 17/07/2021 08:19

I am feeling quite low about it all at present, to be honest. I think that all that has happened, especially the loss of DH, has knocked my confidence a lot. I feel such a failure that DD1 didn't want to share her marriage or birth of DGD1 with me and DH and her sisters.

She didn't want to share her marriage or DGD1 birth with anyone - they have no friends or contact with the outside world (bar LB's DPs it seems) as he has a significant personality disorder where he is permanently paranoid, hostile and suspicious of people and society and can only cope by withdrawing. Your DD is in his vortex now - irrational and unreachable and emotionally complex and dangerous to you - as PP said she is currently a brown bear.

They have also chosen not to share their lives with you (or anyone) post "reconciliation" either. I think that you have only seen your DD1 and DGDs on maybe 3 occasions in the past three years - once at the "reconciliation" and the other two times only because your lovely DH became suddenly terminally ill. I dont think that you have seen them since the funeral last year and your suggestion to visit for DGD birthday was rejected.

Your DD1 is behaving deliberately appallingly to her grieving DM.

This is just another year of punishment for you in their eyes - they have zero empathy for your great loss - if anything they will look to exploit it.

Please take yourself out of punching distance. This is hurting you too much. You are so raw - your grief and your other DDs are your priority and requires massive emotional energy just to survive each day.

Emotionally detach in your head whenever you think of them. Learn a physical mindfulness technique to erase the emotion when you are triggered by a stuck thought - switch to another happy memory or take an action. Their antics are distracting you from yourself and draining you. Consider not sending that book and not engaging in conversations about their plans because I agree with @Justilou1 it risks feeding the beast - and as we know that beast is waiting to pounce.

DartmoorDoughnut · 17/07/2021 08:32

(((Hugs))) @ChopinandChampagne

ChopinandChampagne · 17/07/2021 11:58

Thank you everyone for your replies and kindness. Thank you also for asking about DD2. She has a few more tests still to be done, but all looking quite positive at present - everything crossed and touching all the wood in sight, as Fate hasn't been very kind recently.

I don't think DD1 is enjoying any feeling of power, I genuinely think that she would just have liked to carry on as though nothing had happened, and that we are all unreasonable, especially her sisters, because this is not the case. There was a bit of a rapprochement after DH died, but now everyone is getting on with their lives and, unfortunately, they are not part of each other's lives.

She seems content with her own life with LB and the DGDs and is excited by their plans, as well as expecting DGC3, which is understandable. She must be so busy both practically and with her DC, that she probably doesn't have much space in her head for anyone else although, as a PP said, she has always been very self absorbed but then, many people are. DH didn't think either of them had much empathy, and he hardly ever said a word against anyone.

When she first got back in touch, after she had ghosted us for six months, the intention was clearly to request money in connection with the house move. At that stage, our house had just been razed to the ground (fortunately it was just after we had moved out), so there were a lot of memories as it had been the family home, and it was all really upsetting. A few days later, our cat was run over, and then DH's aunt, the one whom she has recently inherited from, was rushed into hospital after a stroke. She knew all of these things, but showed no real sympathy or interest.

To be fair, I think there has been some improvement with maturity, but there is still a way to go, not helped by the fact that she regards LB as a role model, as will the DGC. The next scan is in a few weeks and it is clear that LB wants a boy. I just worry that if it's another DGD, she will keep having more DC.

I will not 'feed the beast' by becoming involved in any detailed conversations, but I am hoping that by passing on the books, they will approach things a bit more sensibly. It's just basic stuff like having a business plan, inspecting the plot before you buy, carrying out soil tests etc. But we shall see....it's up to them and clearly something which they are keen to do.

I am alright and I don't expect to lean too much on any of my DDs, it's is for me to rebuild my life and try to move forwards. They say that the past is a different country and that's how it feels, a long ago holiday of halcyon days, but now sadly over. I took myself to the seaside yesterday, as it was such a lovely day, but ended up feeling quite sad and melancholic, seeing all of the couples go by, hand in hand, some clearly a lot older than DH and I. There was an elderly couple on the next table to me, at the outdoor cafe where I stopped for lunch, with their two grandsons. They were obviously so happy and close, with the smaller boy climbing onto his grandmother's knee. Why couldn't this have been me and DH? But useless to think such thoughts.

Sssloou is right, as always, in saying that I need to practise some mindfulness techniques. I also need to be busier, which I will be from next week, so I don't have so much time to wallow. However, the bereavement advice is that you need to fully experience your feelings in order to come to terms with the loss.

I know that this is controversial, but I have readings with two mediums/spiritualists early next week, who have been recommended to me. I have an open mind, or at least that's what I am telling myself, to guard against disappointment. I didn't feel ready before, but now I think I am prepared to see what transpires.

OP posts:
Justilou1 · 17/07/2021 13:36

I am afraid that I think that this book may blow up in your face. LB knows it all already. He's not going to take kindly to a book with ideas or suggestions from anyone else, especially when he really wants money instead.

However, I agree entirely that to get over something, you have to first go through it. I am not going to tell you my life story, but I had to face up to a lot of things from my past that I had been repressing. (Not like repressed memory syndrome, but I had been repressing my feelings about them - numbing them.) It was quite scary, but I have become unstuck since dealing with them, and a lot less afraid. It's almost as if I began to feel like if that's the worst thing that could happen to me (some of the things I am talking about pretty much were the worst kinds of things) and I survived those, so what have I got to lose....? It's not like I've taken up extreme sports, but I'm taking a few risks now - like calling friends and suggesting a coffee, when previously I was paralysed with anxiety. It will come. x

CharityDingle · 17/07/2021 13:51

However, the bereavement advice is that you need to fully experience your feelings in order to come to terms with the loss.

I think that is very true. I know that grieving is very individual, and there's no right or wrong way to do it. There are various stages, and they can come and go, and not run along in any given pattern.

It's all very early days yet for you, and you need to really mind yourself, and be kind to yourself. Flowers

Justilou1 · 21/07/2021 00:27

How are you this week @ChopinandChampagne?

EL8888 · 21/07/2021 11:38

Thinking of you. Grief is so hard Flowers.

I haven’t been updated on this thread for a while and know you’ve probably moved on from thoughts of it but l thought the 6 month clause was fair enough

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