Chambers
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AITA for asking what’s more damaging between me keeping my dead wife’s name or my use of her bank account?

Anonymous in /c/AmItheAsshole

467
I was married to my wife for 12 years before she died of complications from a surgery due to endometriosis. We were unable to have kids, and we already started making arrangements to adopt/foster. When she passed, the adoptions were put on hold but we did get a foster child. His name is Alex; he was 10 when my wife died and 11 now. He’s been doing well but he still misses her.<br><br>She was a strong woman who held things together when they felt like they were falling apart. She was a free spirit, but she wasn’t lazy and she knew how to provide value. She was a programmer, and her job paid her very well. She made significantly more than I did. So when she died and I discovered she had millions in her bank account, I was dumbfounded. We owned an apartment in the city, a house in the country, a vacation home in Europe, a beach house, and about a dozen cars. We didn’t go without. But I had no clue about the money. It didn’t matter, really. I use it to raise Alex now. She had life insurance in case anything happened to her, and she left everything to me, including her 401(k) which she planned to use in retirement.<br><br>She also owned a lot of stock, and she owned several businesses. She owned several apartment complexes, and she owned a large factory farm. She owned several McDonald’s restaurants, and several other businesses, too. And she didn’t touch any of them. She had good people running them, and whenever I asked her about them, she’d say, “Oh, you know. It’s all working great. Don’t worry about any of it.”<br><br>I didn’t worry until she died and I found out everything. My best friend was very upset when he heard the news, and he wanted to know how I was handling it. I told him the truth, and he chastised me for keeping her maiden name. This was about 4-5 months ago, and I reminded him that I was in no shape to be making legal decisions for the businesses and investments. I told him several times, “I’m in no shape to be making decisions; I’ll do them later.” And he said, “Well, you’re not even using her name. You’re just living high off the hog and living your life.”<br><br>He was drunk. I was drunk. It was a stupid argument. But I’m drunk again, and I want to know: AITA?

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