Brother squanders inheritance on a scam, then demands half of his sister’s land. Her response left him fuming

A Kenyan woman, 32, refused to share her inherited land with her brother. On March 7, she (u/kilonzo_p) posted her story on Reddit, revealing how it all started when her younger brother sold his part of the inheritance to start a business. His venture failed, and he had no land to build a house. That's when the entitled brother approached his sister, asking her to give him half of her land. The matter escalated and received unsolicited opinions from family and relatives, but the woman stood firm on her decision, refusing to be swayed by pressure. 

The siblings had inherited an equal land share from their grandfather, while their older brother had gotten the biggest portion because he was the firstborn. Nobody complained, and there was no conflict because of it. Fast forward to last year, her younger brother sold his part of the land to start a business. Everyone advised him against it, but he didn't heed their words. Unfortunately, the younger brother's business failed, and he had to bear a tremendous loss. It was then that the entitled brother expected his sister to pay for his mistake.

He asked her to give him a part of her land so he could build his house. She refused, resulting in an unbidden family drama. While her older brother supported her decision, her mom started pressuring her to give up part of her land. "But the thing is, I've been planning to build a house and start farming on that land in the next couple of years. If I give him half of it, those plans are basically ruined," the woman explained.

The younger brother now lives with their mom and is clearly struggling. Although his sister feels bad for him, she isn't willing to give up her inheritance because of his decision. Since her mom works but her young sibling doesn't, she and her older brother have decided to send them monthly upkeep to support them. "I feel bad for my mom and younger brother, but giving up part of my land won’t undo the decision he made, as you all said," the woman wrote in an update post. 

Family conflicts involving inheritance are very common. In fact, a survey found that 35% of American adults report either they or someone they know has experienced family conflict due to inheritance issues, often after the death of a parent. Likewise, another survey by LegalShield found that while 90% of Americans acknowledge the importance of having a will, nearly 6 in 10 have not yet taken action. The study also found that 58% of respondents have experienced conflict, or know someone who has, because of the absence of an estate plan or will. 

Meanwhile, supporting the woman in the Reddit story, u/duehickey commented, "NTA. He had the same amount of land as you and decided to sell it. How is it fair to yourself or your other brother if he takes half of your share? He should own up to the fact that he made a bad decision and sort it out himself." Similarly, u/chaoscoordinator42 asked, "NTA. If his business had been wildly successful, would he have shared a large portion of the profits with you? According to him, siblings should support each other. You know he wouldn’t have shared the profits. So he doesn’t get a share of your inheritance."

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