Family is what you make it. So when this woman’s father said her half sister wanted to reconnect, she agreed to share her number. After all, it feels nice when someone shows initiative and expresses a desire to stay in touch.

However, during their first call, the woman learned that this re-emergence was motivated by a specific reason—or rather, need. Money. When the woman was a child, her grandparents set up a trust fund for her, and now her half sister, who doesn’t have one, wants a share of it.

This woman learned that her younger half sister got pregnant

Image credits: Iakobchuk (not the actual image)

But the news came with a demand to share her trust fund

Image credits: alinabuphoto (not the actual image)

Image credits: kitzstocker (not the actual image)

Image credits: [deleted]

Generally, families are good at avoiding money conversations and bad at having them

Research on estrangement is a relatively new field but already shows that the phenomenon is far more common than some might think.

A study published in the book Fault Lines: Fractured Families and How to Mend Them surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,340 Americans over the age of 18 and found that 27% were currently estranged from a relative.

While there is no conclusive data on whether estrangements are increasing or decreasing, it may be that with celebrities sharing their experiences with everyone, others may feel more comfortable divulging their own struggles.

“Families have always been complicated, and now we’re talking about it more,” says Lucy Blake, PhD, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of the West of England in Bristol and author of the book No Family Is Perfect: A Guide to Embracing the Messy Reality.

The expectations we have for each other vary quite a bit, but it sounds like the author of the post and her half sister felt like they didn’t need to enact any roles or fulfill any obligations. So it’s understandable that the woman felt hurt when she was reminded of them just because of her savings.

However, a recent study from researchers at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, suggests that fights about money – as long as they’re small – may actually be good for families. The reason is that it means they’re talking about money in the first place. Hopefully, these folks will also get to the bottom of their financial issues and find a way to support the struggling mom-to-be.

Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual image)

Many people who read the story said its author did the right thing

But some believe her half sister is entitled to a share of the trust fund

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