young woman with older woman

Shutterstock/Reddit

It’s gotta be a weird feeling when you inherit money from someone you’re not related to and it comes as a total surprise.

That’s what happened to this person and they took to Reddit to talk all about it!

Check out what they had to say.

“Around 5 years ago while I was at school I did a class trip to a retirement village and had to “work” there for a few days to get a certificate.

They really hit it off.

I met a woman there and we became friends. From that point on I visited every month and took her out as often as I could. We went shopping saw movies and I had to take her to the hospital on occasion.

She loved me like a daughter, she had kids but they never visited or called her.

Wow!

She passed away a few months ago and I found out that most of her money/things where going to her church, but she had left me $10,000 to help with university costs. I cried for a whole day when I found out.

But…

Her real family found out and have been telling me I do not deserve it and I need to give it back to them.

I’ve been refusing and they are now considering getting a lawyer involved.

AITA for not giving it to them?”

Reddit users spoke up.

This person said they’re NTA.

Screenshot 2025 12 12 at 1.15.43 PM A Student Befriended A Woman In A Retirement Home, So The Woman Left Her A Large Chunk Of Inheritance Money Instead Of Giving It To Family Members

Another Reddit user agreed.

Screenshot 2025 12 12 at 1.15.55 PM A Student Befriended A Woman In A Retirement Home, So The Woman Left Her A Large Chunk Of Inheritance Money Instead Of Giving It To Family Members

This individual shared their thoughts.

Screenshot 2025 12 12 at 1.16.04 PM A Student Befriended A Woman In A Retirement Home, So The Woman Left Her A Large Chunk Of Inheritance Money Instead Of Giving It To Family Members

Another person spoke up.

Screenshot 2025 12 12 at 1.16.10 PM A Student Befriended A Woman In A Retirement Home, So The Woman Left Her A Large Chunk Of Inheritance Money Instead Of Giving It To Family Members

And this reader chimed in.

Screenshot 2025 12 12 at 1.16.24 PM A Student Befriended A Woman In A Retirement Home, So The Woman Left Her A Large Chunk Of Inheritance Money Instead Of Giving It To Family Members

Kindness can pay off!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.