15+ People Shared What It’s Really Like When a Surprise Inheritance Lands in Your Lap

Probably many of us have wondered what it’s like to come into an unexpected inheritance. The heroes of this article experienced it firsthand. For some people, even a fortune didn’t change their situation, while for others, even a small amount turned their life upside down. Inheritance, in one form or another, suddenly fell into their lap, so how did they deal with it?

• In my youth, I had a passionate holiday fling. We lost touch, then I had family, children, divorce. And suddenly I found out that he had made inquiries about me and bequeathed me something.
  My hands trembled as I opened the box with a small key. Inside were no letters or photos, but documents for a small apartment by the sea registered to me — “our home,” as he signed it.
  And then suddenly I realized: he had been searching all this time for a place where we could meet again, even if one of us might never come.
• I inherited a summer house from my grandparents. All summer I lived there. The area is nice, there is electricity and water, a forest nearby, a lake. The plot was neglected, the house too.
  Last year, I tidied it up, did some simple repairs where needed, insulated it, installed an air conditioner, and set up a small kitchen. I bought a barrel with a heater and made a summer shower. Got my Internet installed!
  The neighbors are quiet, the little house has 2 rooms and a veranda. I worked at home or out in the fresh air. Luckily, I work remotely. Simultaneously, I worked on the plot, planting greens and flowers.
  The nearest supermarket is about 15–25 minutes by car. You can stock up for a week or 2. In the city, I live in a new building with 25 floors, a lot of cars, no greenery. At the summer house, I rested with my soul.
  A cat and her kitten even came to the summer house; I will be taking them to the city. I don’t even want to return to the city, it’s so nice in nature, in silence, in work, and moderate rest. © Overheard / Ideer

• My grandfather inherited an old summer house from his brother. He sold it for a decent amount. Rented out his apartment. Paid to stay in a health retreat for a year.
  He said that at the end of his life he wanted to have some fun old style. He calls us every day and tells us about chess tournaments with old gentlemen, romances with old ladies, and how he found dances for old people not far from the retreat.
  He also said that the end of his life was canceled, he is young and healthy and needs to start thinking about where to find money for another year at the health retreat. © Overheard / Ideer
• An acquaintance told me. He lived all his life with his mother, his dad left before he was even a year old. He barely knew his relatives — just a couple of aunts and a grandmother somewhere in another city. Recently, that grandmother passed away and left him a luxurious apartment.
  It turned out that he had a lot of relatives, all wanting a piece of that apartment. He suddenly had 10 sisters, a few brothers, uncles, aunts, and distant relatives. My friend sent each one a copy of the will where he was the sole heir. The relatives disappeared as quickly as they appeared. © CasualFood / Pikabu
• In my childhood, I was often left in the care of a neighbor. She was bright, cheerful, I adored her. But then she and my mom had a falling out, and we never saw each other again.
  But recently I received a package. I couldn’t hold back my tears; inside was a ring with a note, “The ring has been passed down along the female line in our family, but as you know, I have no daughter. And you used to admire it so much in childhood, wear it with pleasure.”

• In 2001, my mother passed away, leaving behind an inheritance — a chain of restaurants. My sisters decided to sell everything and split the proceeds. I got my “share” — a considerable amount.
  My husband and I were young and foolish, investing in dubious ventures of friends and living extravagantly. At least we managed to buy an apartment and renovate it. We came to our senses only 4 years later, when there was almost nothing left.
  We managed to open a store, which still supports us to this day. So many opportunities wasted... If only we had today’s brains at 20, everything would be different. © Overheard / Ideer
• Had a big argument with my older brother over an inheritance. We inherited a 1-bedroom apartment in an old building from our grandfather. I yelled at my brother, telling him he had a family and kids, and it was a great down payment, but he insisted that he would manage somehow and that I, as a young single woman, needed the apartment more.
  There was nothing much to split; the amount wasn’t large. I had to pressure our parents to ensure the money went to him. I realized that we were raised right after all. I love him, his wife, and kids, and I can’t understand how it could be otherwise. © Unknown author / Pikabu
• My grandfather’s grand piano. As young as I can remember, I begged him to let me have it when he was “done with it.”
  When he passed last year, I received the piano and with it came 28 years of memories, love, and wisdom he shared with me. It quite literally represents my relationship with him, and I will cherish that forever. © readycent / Reddit

• I inherited $250 from my grandmother. I used it to buy a puppy that I named Roxie. More than 16.5 years of companionship, including Roxie getting me through a lot of my adulthood and big milestones.
  So while it was only $250, it was life changing. Just not in the traditional sense of the word as it relates to an inheritance. © Lou__Stools / Reddit
• When I was growing up, there was a lovely old man down the street who had worked for the railways. Me loving Thomas the Tank Engine, and it being the 80s, my parents would just drop me off with him on Saturday afternoons, and we’d have tea, and he’d show me all his old books of train photos.
  In time, we moved away and after another decade or so I got a solicitors letter saying he’d passed. It turns out he’d left his collection to me. Teenage me didn’t think much of a shelf of old books, but we went back to collect them all.
  When we got there, the executor showed us up to the loft, where I’d never been. The entire loft was full of antique model trains. Dozens of locomotives, hundreds of carriages and wagons. Buildings, the lot.
  The instructions were to keep or sell it as I saw fit. I kept a few bits, and sold the majority. It bought me my first car and paid for uni. Tens of thousands of pounds worth.
  I’ve still got 2 of the locomotives to remember him by, and now have my own model railway in the loft, too. © samfitnessthrowaway / Reddit
• I got some money from a random Uncle who lived a sheltered life and had loads saved in his pension. I hadn’t spoken to him in years because I found him a little strange.
  He also left me a small china doll in a box that was named after me. It was something my Great Nan had bought me years before, but it was never given to me when she passed. © Lyrakish / Reddit

• A relative of mine, through 33 connections, passed away, and the heirs declined the inheritance. It turned out that I was the heir. I was entitled to a 1-bedroom apartment on the outskirts with a debt for utilities.
  Well, all right, I accepted the inheritance and paid it off. I received a call from the bank telling me to come and sign some documents. I thought: “What’s this nonsense? What documents?”
  It turned out that there was a nice sum in this relative’s account. I called the heirs who had refused, and we met up and partied with that money. And I’m renting out the apartment. © napeHb / Pikabu
• I inherited an apartment. I didn’t need it, so I rented it out. Over 8 years, the tenants renovated it, got married, got a dog, had a child, and they were ready to buy their own place, but there was a catch: they really wanted to buy mine, as they had grown accustomed to it over so many years.
  I sold it — I had no choice, the entire history of the family is encapsulated within those walls. © Overheard / Ideer
• My great-grandfather was an excellent jeweler. I inherited several extraordinary sets that he gifted to my great-grandmother. He loved her very much.
  Recently, we decided to demolish their old house and build a new one in its place. We found a chest in the wall! We were so delighted when we opened it. Such extraordinary beauty!
  It turned out that my great-grandmother had told my mother in her childhood that Grandpa had stashed 3 chests. But where exactly — he never got to say... We’re searching for the inheritance. © Overheard / Ideer

• I inherited a hotel from my parents. The maids clean everything so thoroughly that there’s not a single microbe from previous guests. I personally go around and check how they scrub the rooms. I boil the linens, and all supplies are disposable. Not a speck of dust.
  It’s complicated and expensive: throwing away rags after cleaning each toilet, using professional products, and spending a lot of time cleaning. Guests don’t suspect a thing, and I absolutely love that people live in sterile cleanliness during their vacation. © Overheard / Ideer
• I inherited a private house near the city from my dear aunt. The house is small, covered in ordinary brick from the outside. But inside, it’s elegantly renovated, everything is thought out, with furniture and technology, harmony and style.
  I moved in and realized that in my stretched-out home clothes, I don’t fit with this interior at all. I’m going to buy a silk robe with lace, so I could fit in. It’s a home dress code, so to speak. © Overheard / Ideer
• Not exactly inherited, but my kitchen apron is made from my deceased great-grandmother’s linen bedclothes. My grandma, mom, aunt, and sister all have one. I love it, but I’m anxious to get it dirty, so for now it’s not in use...
  Other than that, my great-grandfather left us his piano, it’s more than 100 years old with ivory keys. © Haelx / Reddit

• My husband and I bought a large antique chest from a girl. She inherited it from her mother, her mother from her grandmother, her grandmother from her great-grandmother, and so on. I looked at it with loving eyes, while the girl saw it as trash. When I think about the history it holds, it gives me goosebumps! © Overheard / Ideer
• My uncle knew his time was coming up. We spent a lot of time together in the month and days leading up. A couple days before he passed, he gave me a garbage bag full of stuff and told me to open it when I got home.
  Inside were books on Indians and Old West ghost towns, some sweaters that were about 10 years old, and about 20 old VHS tapes from the mid 80s. This is exactly what I was expecting! Thanks Uncle Phil. Still miss you! © bpk014 / Reddit
• I received a good inheritance from 2 grandmothers and a grandfather. I try to spend this money on what they loved and lived for. For example, I made a donation to a small museum that one grandmother adored visiting. I also helped a cat shelter.
  I strive to buy things from craftsmen who work for themselves: all the dishes in the house are handmade. My grandfather valued this and always bought from artisans to support their craft. It’s as if my grandmothers and grandfather continue to live through these simple ideas. © Overheard / Ideer

And this man refused to give his childfree daughter his inheritance. Check out what happened next.