A $700,000 inheritance wasn’t the twist—who it came from was. A woman says her ex, who she dated for nearly 20 years, left her the majority of his estate, even though he had a wife and a child on the way.
In a post on Reddit’s AITAH forum, she laid it out plainly: “My ex left me the majority of his estate. Amounts to $700,000.” The two never married, she said, but were together long term and child-free. After she discovered he cheated, she left. He later married another woman.
Then came the shock. After his death, she was contacted by a solicitor and told she had inherited most of what he left behind. He also included a letter. In it, he apologized and said he “loved me and wished me and my family happiness.”
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Now his parents and wife are pushing back. “His wife and parents are very angry and demand that I leave them everything,” she wrote. “I don’t know… would I be the a**hole if I kept it because that is what I want actually. And what he wanted.”
Can Someone Legally Leave An Estate To An Ex
In general, yes. A person can leave assets to anyone they choose through a valid will, including an ex-partner. On paper, naming an ex is not automatically invalid.
But a will is not always the final word.
“You need to talk to an attorney,” one commenter said. “The wife and her child may have a legal claim to his estate.”
In many states, a surviving spouse has the right to claim a portion of the estate even if they were left out of the will. A minor child may also have rights tied to financial support. Those claims can override how probate assets are distributed.
Then there is a key distinction that can change everything. Not all assets pass through a will.
If some or all of the $700,000 was held in accounts with named beneficiaries—such as payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, retirement accounts, or life insurance—those assets typically pass directly to the named person. They do not go through probate and are not controlled by the will.
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In that scenario, if the ex named her as the beneficiary, those funds would usually go straight to her, even if he later married and had a child on the way.
That does not mean the situation is untouchable. A spouse may still have rights depending on state law, especially if marital property was used to fund those accounts. Courts can also review timing, intent, and whether a spouse or child was left out in a way the law does not allow.
The same uncertainty applies to the child. While support obligations often come out of the estate, disputes can arise if large amounts of money pass outside of it.
Why The Wife And Child Could Still Have A Claim
The existence of a spouse and a child on the way complicates everything.
“Is it even possible for him to set up an estate like that, cutting his wife and kid out,” one commenter asked.
Another pointed to a common legal principle: “You can’t disinherit a minor child, your estate has to provide for their care.”
There is also the issue of timing. If the will was written before the marriage or pregnancy, courts may treat the wife or child as unintentionally left out, giving them grounds to …
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