Rellies
Thanks, Smash Monkey, for reminding me. My step-father was 25 years older than my mum and had adult kids. He wasn't a great father - absent through work, not abusive - but was a great step-father. He got sick when I was in my mid teens and my mum nursed him for three years. Not one of his kids turned up to see him during that time.

At 1am when he died, my mum, brother and myself were in the room with him. Absolutely devastated, but my mum managed to call his kids not much later.

At 4pm that same day his eldest daughter came into our house and took everything that he had given us. She even stripped the sheets off the bed that he had died on and took them. She took gifts, she took my mum's perfume, she tried to even take our car. We were so stunned, we let her basically rob us as we were grieving. We didn't notice half the stuff until later, but that was too late.

The magic was gone, not then, but when the letter from a lawyer was sent to us demanding the ironing board back. Yes, the economics of that doesn't make sense, but I suppose she was so pissed at her father that she took it out on my mum. The sad thing was that he was really loaded, but never changed his will, so while my mum had to go into the dole office four days after he died, his kids got his two houses, superannuation and cash.
(boozehound is drinking your bar dry, Thu 28 Oct 2010, 10:24, 7 replies)

^ 100% what happens so make a will.
You may think you have fuck all. but if you do not have a will, the fuck all that you have will go to someone you don't want it to and the government take a cut.

So get a will. its cheap.

Sorry your family got stuffed.
(waxdart hello., Thu 28 Oct 2010, 10:29, closed)

Yeah, thanks for that.
You know what they say, where there is a will, there's a relative....
(boozehound is drinking your bar dry, Thu 28 Oct 2010, 10:43, closed)

My goodness that's truly, truly appalling.

Has your Mum / anyone else taken anything else against your step-fathers kids?

Sorry to say this about your step-sister, but what a beeatch.
(Wibblist Last said "Wibble" on, Thu 28 Oct 2010, 11:00, closed)

Nah, my mum is the sweetest.
Some people may think she was a push-over, but she has always taught us that sometimes arseholes live in a dark, smelly place because they can't move on. Step-sister is a rich arsehole now, but she will never get the stink off her.
(boozehound is drinking your bar dry, Thu 28 Oct 2010, 11:04, closed)

Karma
Through my experience to date of having been royally shafted (and not even in a good or entertaining way) in similar circumstances I've been able to balance this by reminding myself that karma's going to get her.
(Wibblist Last said "Wibble" on, Thu 28 Oct 2010, 11:06, closed)

I'd have stabbed her.

( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Thu 28 Oct 2010, 11:10, closed)

Couldn't. Her armour piercing suit of outrage made Superman look like a pussy.

(boozehound is drinking your bar dry, Thu 28 Oct 2010, 11:14, closed)