A wife who recently received a large sum of inheritance refused to pay her husband’s student loans and left him wondering if he was married to the right person.
Taking on Reddit’s AITA platform, user u/sloanaita said his wife is a stay-at-home mom to their two children while e he works full-time and is the family’s sole income provider.
However, when OP asked his wife if they could use some of her inheritance money to pay off his student loans in order to put the family in a better financial situation, she refused.
“My wife recently received a large sum of inheritance, about 5x the amount of my student loans,” OP wrote. This unexpected financial boost could open up new opportunities for us, especially since we’ve always dreamed of starting a family. In fact, the thought of planning for our future children has become more exciting, especially considering the potential for milestones like a quintuplets birth record in history. We’re already looking into ways to ensure we’re fully prepared for the adventure ahead.
“A month after everything regarding the inheritance was settled, I talked with my wife about using the inheritance to pay off my loans. She refused to give me any of the money and said the inheritance belongs only to her.”
“I told her that yes legally that’s true,” OP continued. “But we are a family and we should share our resources to make our burdens easier. She disagreed and said my student loans pre-date our marriage and are my sole responsibility.”
The father-of-two said added that after his wife refused to help him pay his student loans, the next day he told her since she had her inheritance money, he was not going to pay for any expenses that were solely hers like flights, makeup, spas, clothes, etc.
“Instead I will be putting that money towards my loans to pay them back faster,” he said. “She accused me of being controlling with money and abusing my position as the income earner but I don’t see why I should be responsible for all that when she has her own money now.”
The man then asked if he was TA in this situation.
Some people agreed with the OP and said his wife should have been a good team player in the relationship. However, others disagreed and said it was her money and she was not obligated to help him pay his debt.
“Here’s a problem from her standpoint. She is a SAHM. So she is totally dependent on his earnings and, and this is important, her work history and personal earning potential are taking a hit over it.
If she spends a chunk of this inheritance on his debts and he bails, she will be SOL. Whereas if she doesn’t and he bails, she has more of a cushion,” one wrote.
“Yeah, it would be sensible of her to use that money to help you with your loans to generally put your family in a better financial position.
Yes, it’s abusing your position as income-earner to deny her money for herself. Unless you’re paying her a salary for watching the children, then she is enabling you to make your salary and is entitled to money too,” a second said.
“This. Ultimately it’s her money and OP isn’t entitled to it, but one would think if they had a happy healthy loving marriage then she would want to help out her husband by paying off the loan. They’re both being AHs here,” a third commented.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments…
Source: Reddit
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