The Bitter Law Student

Sorry, Dad, but the First Punch has Been Thrown

My sister and I have a troubled relationship. Part of it stems from the fact that she is technically old enough to be my mother (she's almost 50, with a son who is a month younger than me), but I think the biggest part of the problem stems from the fact that I am adopted. In her mind, adoption means that I'm not really my father's daughter, as there are no blood ties between my father and I. Never mind the fact that the law sees no difference between my sister and I or that my father never distinguished me as different from his "natural" children. Whatever. I'm used to it. She's hated me for my entire life... probably due to the fact that she wasn't the "only daughter" as soon as I entered the picture.

The relationship I have with my sister troubled my father. I'm not saying that I'm blameless in the matter, but for the record, I want to state that I haven't done much to provoke my sister. I think that she spends way too much time feeling sorry for herself. But that's just me. Anyway, my dad was concerned that after he was gone, my sister and I would fight. This led to me making my father a promise. It basically stated that after he was gone, I would make a point to not fight with my sister.

Yeah, that ended this weekend. After my father passed away, my sister kept his personal belongings in a storage unit. She did not make keys available to my brother or I. She kept his vehicles on her property... she did not make keys for the vehicles available to my brother or I. We were told to wait until we met wtih the lawyer to take care of everything. So my brother and I waited.... I called the lawyer to ask what needed to be done, and he stated that it was important for us to divide his personal belongings. So my brother and I met with my sister this last weekend to do that.

Yeah, it was a complete and utter joke. Everything that my father had wished for us to do was completely undermined by my sister. He wished for his three children to divide his belongings, but there were the three siblings.... and my sister's entire fucking family present at the storage unit. I thought this was grossly inappropriate and wished to say something, but bit my tongue on behalf of my father's memory. My father wanted us each of us to have two of his six guns... but there were no guns in the storage unit. Some expensive logging equipment was also missing. And then there was my dad's car.

Before my father passed away, he told my brother that I needed a new car and that I should have his car when he died. I had been planning on offering to purchase the car and pay for it out of my share of the inheritance. When I approached my sister about this, she was a complete and total bitch, stating that my father told HER to take the car, and that she had been driving it around without asking my brother and I (who each own a third of the vehicle) if this was okay. She did not make an offer to purchase the car. She just assumed that she was the rightful owner, and for that, I would like to kick her ass. I can't believe that she thinks she can get away with treating my brother and I this way.

It doesn't end there. After I left the storage unit, my brother approached my sister and stated, "You know, Dad did say that he wanted The BLS to have the car." My sister threw a hissy fit and stated, "I don't care! Dad's already spent $17,000 on new cars for her. She's not getting this car, too." (THE BLS'S RESPONSE: My father only bought me one car. It cost $12,661. How do I know that? He lost the mobility in his right hand in an accident years ago and couldn't write very well. He had ME write out the check for that amount. It's not my fault that she snooped through my dad's things and assumed that a check he had written out for $17,000 was for me.)

I know I promised my dad that I wouldn't fight. But my dad also told me something else as I was growing up. During my countless hours that I spent with my father over the course of my life, he repeatedly told me that I needed to stick up for myself. He brought me up to be a fighter, but when it comes to issues that involve me, I'm notorious for being a bit meek. For the record, I'm done being meek. I can't believe the sheer greed that my sister is exhibiting over my father's things. It's like she never really loved HIM, but just the things that he owned. I feel like my father's memory is being fleeced by this greed for monetary gain. And yeah, my brother and I are going to call her on it. She doesn't realize that these tangible things are not the only things on the line. If she succeeds in screwing my brother and I over, she'll lose us. Forever. Money only lasts so long, and if I know my sister like I think I do, she'll blow through it. My brother and I will quit speaking to her forever. She doesn't know what she's messing with.

She wants to fight? She's going to get one.

I'm sorry, Dad.

posted by The BLS @ 9/29/2005 01:30:00 PM