A woman found herself in a difficult situation when her husband and in-laws expected her to cover the cost of their New Year’s Eve dinner using the money she had inherited from her mother. Feeling frustrated and undervalued, she quietly paid for her own meal and left the restaurant.
In marriages, financial disagreements often lead to arguments. This issue becomes even more sensitive when in-laws are involved, as a 32-year-old woman experienced firsthand on New Year’s Eve. After walking out of the family dinner, she turned to Reddit for advice.
When her mother passed away, the woman inherited a substantial amount of money. She decided to keep it in a separate account while considering how to use it wisely. However, her husband frequently brought up the inheritance, suggesting various ways to spend it and expecting her to use it for multiple expenses.
“My husband constantly discussed the inheritance and would suggest various ways to spend the money. He expected me to use my money to pay for several things since it came to me,” she explained.
The Expectation to Pay for the Family’s Dinner
On New Year’s Eve, the woman was dining with her husband and his family when her mother-in-law made a joking comment about her paying for the meal from her “inheritance pocket.” Although the remark angered her, she kept her emotions in check.
At the table, the woman’s mother-in-law joked, “You should pay for our meal out of your inheritance pocket.” The snide remark angered the woman, but she did not react and kept her emotions to herself.
Instead of meeting their expectations, she quietly paid for her own food and drinks, then stood up and left the restaurant. Her husband and in-laws called after her, but she was too upset to return. Later that night, her husband came home and started yelling at her.
“He got back at 3 a.m yelling at me saying I was pathetic to get up and walk out on him and his family after they relied on me to pay for their food and thought I was gracious enough to do it BUT they were wrong,” she recounted.
Her husband accused her of humiliating his family and suggested that her actions were a form of revenge for their lack of support for her sick mother. He also blamed her for causing a rift with his family by not paying for the dinner.
Many Reddit users offered their support and advice. One person suggested she seek legal help to protect her inheritance by putting it in a trust that her husband and in-laws couldn’t access in case of divorce.
“In many places, it only becomes a marital asset if you decide to share, so by picking up the tab from the investment account, that could have set the precedence,” a Reddit user advised.
