Sibling rivalry is all fun and games until it culminates in litigation.
That was the situation for a woman who was furious to find out the status of a precious item she claimed was specifically meant for her.
It all centered around an heirloom passed down from her late grandmother.
After staying true to her convinctions in a situation where she felt she was being wronged, she turned to the “Am I the A**hole?” (AITA) subReddit to seek judgment from strangers online.
There, Redditor CourseTasty9395 asked:
“AITA for suing my brother over a family heirloom he gave to his fiancée?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I come from a family where heirlooms mean a lot. Our grandmother left us an antique diamond necklace that’s been passed down for generations to the first daughter in the family.”
“Since I’m the only daughter of this generation, it was supposed to come to me.”
“My brother claimed grandma told him in private that it should go to him instead because he’s ‘the most responsible.’ I didn’t want to cause drama, so I let it go, even though it felt unfair.”
The OP continued:
“Last week, I saw on social media that my brother gave the necklace to his fiancée as an engagement gift. She posted a picture wearing it with the caption, ‘Feeling like royalty with my new family heirloom.’ ”
“I confronted my brother and reminded him the necklace was meant to stay in the family. He said, ‘She is family now. Don’t be petty.’ When I asked for it back, he refused, saying it would ruin their engagement.”
So the OP was forced to take things to the point of no return.
“I decided to take legal action to get the necklace back. Now my brother is furious and calling me selfish. My parents think I’m overreacting, but some extended family members are on my side, saying he never had the right to give it away.”
“His fiancée even messaged me, calling me a jealous drama queen and telling me to find my own man to buy me jewelry.”
“The whole thing has caused a family feud, and now my brother and his fiancée are threatening to uninvite me from the wedding.”
“AITA for taking this to court over a necklace that was supposed to be mine?”
Anonymous strangers weighed in by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
Many Redditors had her back and saw her as not the a**hole (NTA) here.
Over a week later, the OP shared the following update to her story after receiving an overwhelming number of responses to her initial post.
There was more to the story.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this much attention on my post. Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and advice. I wanted to give an update because things have escalated and there’s some new context.”
“First, I talked to my parents about the situation. It turns out my brother didn’t just take the necklace he convinced my dad that grandma told him it was meant for him because she thought a man would be more responsible.”
“My dad, trying to avoid conflict, handed it over without asking questions. So no, my dad didn’t intentionally give it to him, it was manipulation.”
“I also reached out to other family members who remember grandma’s clear wishes that the necklace was supposed to go to the first daughter. They’re willing to back me up if this goes to court.”
“My dad has also agreed to speak on my behalf in court, clarifying that he never meant to give the necklace away permanently.”
“As for the legal side, I’ve consulted with my lawyer, who thinks I do have a case. Since there’s no will, it all comes down to proving that the necklace was meant to stay in the maternal line. It’s tricky, but I feel more confident now knowing I have some family members on my side.”
“My brother and his fiancée, however, have doubled down. They’ve accused me of being jealous, and his fiancée posted another passive-aggressive picture on social media wearing the necklace, captioning it ‘Some things just find their rightful home❤️.’ “
“It’s honestly infuriating.”
“At this point, I’m committed to fighting for the necklace, even if it causes more tension in the family. I’ll keep you updated if there are any major developments.”
She started off the comments with:
“I’m not backing down no matter how much they try to twist things. This necklace belongs to me and I’m going to make sure it stays in the family.”
Redditors continued defending the OP.
“Keep fighting. And don’t fall for “you’re breaking the family apart” narrative. Your brother is doing that and he can fix it very easily. I would also partially blame your dad, who should grow a pair and have a serious talk with your brother. It seems your family dynamics is quite odd though.” – Idontlikesoup1
“Also, speaking from experience, grandma not having a will clearly delineating her wishes is a sure fire way to divide families. If you and your Dad do not have one, get one asap.”
“Your brother is a manipulative pos. I’d take out a loan if I had to to get that necklace back and, because of all the trouble your pos brother has caused I’d let him know that Dad was leaving it to you!” – VeraLumina
“The fiance is absolute trash. The correct response would have been to say ‘oops. I didn’t realise it meant so much to the family. Can I borrow it for my wedding and special outings?.’ “
“Not nya nya nya it’s all mine now. Best of luck with the court case. Once you win cut the b*tch out of your life.” – AccomplishedLeave506
“You keep fighting the good fight! There have been times I have read stories about inheritance on reddit, and the author was absolutely wrong. However, in your case, you are 100% right in trying to get what is yours.”
“Your entire family knew that the necklace was always passed down to the first daughter, and your brother is just trying to manipulate everyone (for what seems like the 1000th time) in order to get his way. I do really think it’s unfortunate that your dad gave him the necklace, so I would make sure that he is actually going to say he didn’t mean for your brother to have it permanently.”
“As for your SIL, I kinda want to kick her in the shins. Her social media posts in your first post were bad, but the one you mentioned in this post just shows she is not a good person. I also thought it was hysterical that she previously told you that you just needed to find a man who would buy jewelry for you… Ummm… does she realize that HER man didn’t buy jewelry from her and just stole it from the rightful heir?”
“I do hope that this is the event that allows your extended family to see what type of person your brother is. From your posts and comments, it seems as if he has been manipulating people to get whatever he wants for quite some time, and people always seem to give in to him.”
“If this isn’t the straw that breaks the camel’s back, I don’t know what is. I also think you would be well within your right to cut off any family member who thinks you should let your brother keep the necklace, as it shows they really don’t care about family if they’re willing to allow your brother to take something that isn’t his.”
“Please keep us updated on how this goes… I (and this is probably horrible to say) can’t wait to see what your SIL posts after she gets sued… and then after the case, what she has to say then.”
“Maybe she can post more about feeling like royalty (which 1. Made me gag and 2. Was written to rub in the fact that she got the necklace and you didn’t).” – Icy_Cardiologist8444
“Your brother is a manipulative POS. Your parents should tell him he’ll be written out of their will if he doesn’t return the necklace to you, saves you going to court.”
“If not, go to court and go NC with him after, he’s not your brother, he’s a snake. And go LC/NC with anyone in your family who sides with him.”
“For social media, you can just post if you need to respond and say it is an ongoing legal matter and will be discussed in court. Everyone will know what is up then.” – iknowsomethings2
“Especially as this is the father’s problem to fix. He disrespected his mum and maternal line by doing this. I can’t believe he is still so nonchalant about this knowing that son lied, leaving it up to op to sort out. He fudged up, he should fix this.” – MunchausenbyPrada
Overall, Redditors thought the OP’s anger was warranted given her brother’s manipulation.
These intense situations are unfortunately enough to tear families apart, especially when there’s no existing will with no inclusion of specific clauses relating to the circumstances.
When the dust is settled from any legal actions if they were taken, they’ll be able to move on from this and salvage familial ties over time.