I Refuse to Give Any Money to My Late Husband’s (Possible) Affair Baby

The pain of betrayal, combined with the uncertainties of inheritance and responsibility, can create an almost unbearable burden. Such is the case in the heart-wrenching story of one woman, who finds herself facing an unexpected dilemma after the death of her husband.

She explained what happened.

My husband passed away almost three years ago, leaving me a solo mom of an 8-year-old. I've learned a lot about who he really was since then. Let's just say that if he were alive, we wouldn't still be married.

About six weeks ago, a process server showed up trying to serve him with a court order to submit DNA for a kid. I gave him a copy of the death certificate and sent him on his way.

Shortly after that, a woman showed up on my doorstep saying that the kid she had with her was my late husband’s child. Is it? I don’t know and I don’t care. It kind of looks like him, but also looks young enough that they would have had to have been conceived very, very shortly before his death.

I told her that he was gone and where she could find his grave. She almost immediately started demanding “her half” of his estate. I laughed and told her that half of nothing was nothing, and she was welcome to that.

Where I've been informed that I might be a jerk is that while it's true there was no estate, there were assets that passed outside of probate. One of those assets was a rental property that his parents gave us years ago, deeded with him and me as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. In short, it became mine when he died.

I've already sold it and that will be the money that sends my kid to college. Legally, I'm good (already talked to my attorney about this). While I feel bad for this child, I also have a child of my own to look out for.

People stood on her side.

• "You were not a jerk. And for what it’s worth, that’s not a terribly uncommon scam for some reason. If you still have the papers, I’d look into if they were even legitimate." O***Vegetable / Reddit
• "I would have said, “He died with a ton of debt. Let me get your info, so I can transfer half of it to you.” She would be out of there so fast!" New_Standard_8609 / Reddit
• "You need to focus on your child and your finances. The property legally belongs to you, and there's no proof your late husband was the father of the other child. Your priority is your own child's future." Trick-Measurement-20 / Reddit

• “Unless she has a way to prove paternity, you have ZERO obligations to her or her affair baby. Even if he is, the rental property was in your name, so it was not your husband’s to give away. Remember, she chose to wreck your house. I would not open the door for her.” mi_nombre_es_ricardo / Reddit
• “Don’t even give a second of thought about this again. Just tell yourself, ‘It was just a scam.’ And never talk to that person again, get a restraining order if it comes to it. Having said that, if you ever are served with papers (i.e. an actual lawsuit has been filed) then lawyer up immediately and vigorously defend yourself.” Apprehensive-Care20z / Reddit
• “It’s between your late hubby and his baby momma. You received sole possession of all assets upon his death, and you owe nothing to the baby momma. She should have informed him she was pregnant with his child while he was alive if she knew. Why did she wait 3 years to come forward?” Funny247365 / Reddit

While the moral and ethical implications of her choice may invite diverse opinions, it underscores a universal truth: that healing and moving forward often require difficult, deeply personal decisions.