Personal Finance

My late grandfather set up a savings account for me, now my grandma won’t give me my money.

Aaron Webber

Published: January 9, 2025 8:30 am

Did you know the Baby Boomer generation is the most selfish and entitled generation in recent history? They inherited one of the strongest economies in the history of the world and have proceeded to pull up the ladder behind them, ruining the economic prospects of later generations forever. Personal anecdotes attesting to the fact abound regarding these generational characteristics.

One person, unfortunately, is facing the greed of the Baby Boomers personally. They took their questions and concerns to the people in the r/inheritance community, seeking their help. Here is what they said. Please remember, of course, that all the comments and this article are opinions, and you should not take them as legal or financial advice. You should always talk to a lawyer before taking any action regarding inheritances.

The Question

The author of the post says that his grandparents started a savings account for him when he was younger and regularly deposited money in it for birthdays, holidays, and other events. The author is now 30 years old and has run into issues accessing that money.

They say that their step-grandmother seems like she has forgotten about the account entirely, but opened another account for her biological children along with her step-children.

Six months later, she changed her story and said that she had invested the money from the savings account into her own account but “cross-referenced” the investments in the author’s name.

In the end, the author concluded that the step-grandmother wasn’t going to give them access to the account or give them the money. She constantly avoids the question or is vague in her responses.

The author wants to know if he’ll ever eventually see the money in an inheritance or some other form. They want to know what they can do to get access to the account.

The Community Response

As sad as it seems, despite what the grandparents might have said, how much money they put in the account, and what promises they made, the author has no legal claim on the money if it was, in fact, put into a regular savings account.

If the money was included in a will of some kind, then it is best for the author to simply pretend it doesn’t exist. If it does end up being given to him, then it will be a great bonus. But you should never count or plan on receiving an inheritance of any kind or amount until the money is actually in your possession. There are too many things that can prevent an inheritance from making its way to you, so it’s best not to make plans with it in mind.

Legal action also wouldn’t be profitable, as only certain types of accounts are legally the property of the person whose name is on the account, and if the money is already withdrawn and the account closed, there is nothing a lawyer could really do, and it would probably just cause more problems than it’s worth.

The general consensus of the community was that the author should simply forget about the account and the money.