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Hey Pandas, AITA For Going to Court Because My Brother Didn’t Inform Me About Mom?
Text post about not forgiving brother after learning about mother's passing and cancer diagnosis months later.
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I recently lost my mother to cancer, but I wasn’t even told she was sick. Apparently, that was her wish, because she didn’t want me to “nurse her.” I’m a nurse, but I’m also her daughter. When she first started complaining about medical issues (before anyone knew it was cancer), I tried to advocate for her. But whenever she rejected a medical suggestion, I backed off because I didn’t want to push her.

I also told her that she could always call me, but sometimes I might not be able to respond immediately – and this ended up being important.

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    One day, I didn’t get back to her quickly enough, and she took that as a sign that I didn’t want to talk to her

    Image credits: Gilles Lambert (not the actual photo)

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    After that, she stopped contacting me completely. By then, she already knew she had cancer. When I called, my brother would say she wasn’t home, or she just wouldn’t answer because she was sick.

    Eventually, my mother told my brother not to tell me she was ill or that she had died.

    I only found out she passed away two months later because I invited my uncle (her brother) to dinner

    Image credits: Charissa Limuel (not the actual photo)

    He felt so guilty that he came over beforehand and told me the truth. I completely broke down.

    I immediately went to my brother’s house and demanded to know what was going on. His explanation was that he was following her wishes. My mother had a bit of a narcissistic streak – she would say things like “don’t tell your brother” or “don’t tell your sister” just to get attention. 

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    She had told me not to tell my brother things before, and I would ignore it, because soon enough she’d be at his house acting like everything was normal. But this time, she took it to an extreme.

    Now I’m devastated. If my uncle hadn’t told me, my brother would’ve let me find out from the estate lawyer. I can’t eat, I can’t function, and I’m disgusted with my brother. He’s acting like he’s in charge of everything – the estate, the house – and won’t even let me have the few sentimental items I want. I have my own home and things; I’m not after money.

    So I’ve decided to contest the estate to force the sale of the house, which he thinks he’s going to live in

    Image credits: Brianna Lengacher (not the actual photo)

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    He doesn’t work, even though he’s in a union – he just turns down jobs and stays on unemployment. At this point, it’s not about the belongings. It’s about principle, and honestly, I want him to feel some of the pain he caused me. Selling the house would leave him homeless.

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    Maybe that makes me a jerk. But he took away my chance to make things right with my mother, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that.

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    Jane Doe

    Jane Doe

    Author, Community member

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    This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

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    Jane Doe

    Jane Doe

    Author, Community member

    This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

    Gabriela Zagorska

    Gabriela Zagorska

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

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    My name is Gabriela, and I’m a Community Manager at Bored Panda. In real life, it means that every day, together with my team, I ensure that all the posts submitted by our creative pandas display their work in the best possible way. I'm always on the lookout for new artists who would like to join our community and share their content with a wide audience. In addition to that, I keep my finger on the community pulse and supervise its activity, ensuring that any problems our members experience on our website are promptly resolved.Before joining the Bored Panda team, I worked as a freelancer, offering my creative services to people around the world—starting with graphic design, photography, and finally videos. Now, I pursue these activities only as a hobby, capturing moments with my cats and documenting new places I visit during my travels.

    Read less »

    Gabriela Zagorska

    Gabriela Zagorska

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    My name is Gabriela, and I’m a Community Manager at Bored Panda. In real life, it means that every day, together with my team, I ensure that all the posts submitted by our creative pandas display their work in the best possible way. I'm always on the lookout for new artists who would like to join our community and share their content with a wide audience. In addition to that, I keep my finger on the community pulse and supervise its activity, ensuring that any problems our members experience on our website are promptly resolved.Before joining the Bored Panda team, I worked as a freelancer, offering my creative services to people around the world—starting with graphic design, photography, and finally videos. Now, I pursue these activities only as a hobby, capturing moments with my cats and documenting new places I visit during my travels.

    What do you think ?
    Mel in Georgia
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is just one side of the story and the whole family sounds dysfunctional. Wish I could side with the OP, but there's just not enough information about the people involved or the situation.

    JB
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What do you mean “contest the estate”? Given there’s an estate lawyer involved who hasn’t yet contacted you, doesn’t that mean the estate is in probate? Until probate is completed, you have no legal right to help yourself to sentimental items, regardless of value. If the house has been left to both of you but there’s a clause giving your brother lifetime right of tenancy, you’re SOL in attempting to force a sale. I strongly suggest you read and understand the will before going for a knee jerk reaction. I’m deeply sympathetic to your pain, if my sibling didn’t tell me that dad had cancer, then died, because he told her not to, d**n straight I’d be hysterical with rage. But, as a nurse, you know your mom had the legal right to give instructions that her medical condition not be communicated to you. Obviously, there’s no legal obligation on your brother, yet you must understand that familial relationship, no matter how close, doesn’t entitle you to medical information. By your own words, “… this time she took it to an extreme.” She took away your chance to make things right. But you can’t take out your pain on her for her decision so you’re displacing it as anger onto your brother for respecting her wishes. I’m really sorry for your loss.

    Lily Anne
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It’s all her mother- even from the grave she’s making the lives of her children miserable. Don’t tell your brother, don’t tell your sister- that’s literally turning one sibling against the other. How can you rest in peace when you haven’t made peace with your children, and even more- when you know your children will fight bitterly after your death.

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    Mel in Georgia
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is just one side of the story and the whole family sounds dysfunctional. Wish I could side with the OP, but there's just not enough information about the people involved or the situation.

    JB
    Community Member
    4 months ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What do you mean “contest the estate”? Given there’s an estate lawyer involved who hasn’t yet contacted you, doesn’t that mean the estate is in probate? Until probate is completed, you have no legal right to help yourself to sentimental items, regardless of value. If the house has been left to both of you but there’s a clause giving your brother lifetime right of tenancy, you’re SOL in attempting to force a sale. I strongly suggest you read and understand the will before going for a knee jerk reaction. I’m deeply sympathetic to your pain, if my sibling didn’t tell me that dad had cancer, then died, because he told her not to, d**n straight I’d be hysterical with rage. But, as a nurse, you know your mom had the legal right to give instructions that her medical condition not be communicated to you. Obviously, there’s no legal obligation on your brother, yet you must understand that familial relationship, no matter how close, doesn’t entitle you to medical information. By your own words, “… this time she took it to an extreme.” She took away your chance to make things right. But you can’t take out your pain on her for her decision so you’re displacing it as anger onto your brother for respecting her wishes. I’m really sorry for your loss.

    Lily Anne
    Community Member
    4 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It’s all her mother- even from the grave she’s making the lives of her children miserable. Don’t tell your brother, don’t tell your sister- that’s literally turning one sibling against the other. How can you rest in peace when you haven’t made peace with your children, and even more- when you know your children will fight bitterly after your death.

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