'AITA for feeling no guilt or regret for legally emancipating myself from my dad?'
"AITA for feeling no guilt or regret for legally emancipating myself from my dad when I was 16 to stop him providing for his family with my inheritance?"
Let me start with some background because it’s relevant here. My parents divorced when I was four. My dad cheated on my mom with multiple women and got more than one of them pregnant. I lived primarily with my mom and saw my dad every other weekend.
When I was seven, my dad got remarried. He later adopted his wife’s daughter and then had more children with her. He never had anything to do with the children he conceived through his affairs, but he still had more kids than he could afford with his wife.
When I was fourteen, my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer. It ended up being terminal, and we moved in with my grandparents, who were her parents. We were all worried that my dad would try to steal from me once I ended up in his custody after my mom died.
That was the kind of thing he would do, since he regularly asked me for money when I stayed at his house. The judge didn’t seem to care, so we looked into emancipation and made sure I could meet the criteria as best as possible.
After my mom passed away and I went to live with my dad, he tried to steal from me by accessing my bank account to withdraw money he knew I had from my mom. He claimed it was for essentials, but that didn’t matter.
He did it without my permission. After that, I went to the police to file a report and then went to court to file for emancipation. I was already working part-time, and the money from my mom was secured in another account.
It took several months, and I was almost seventeen before emancipation was granted, but I met the criteria and was approved. I rented a place from a friend’s family and worked while attending school until graduation.
My grandparents legally weren’t allowed to help me, so I had to handle everything on my own. I did it, and it kept my money safe from my dad. He was furious, not just at me but also at my grandparents, because he knew they had helped me plan for it.
I had no contact with my dad for a few years, but recently he reached out and asked if I was ready to apologize to him and his family. I told him I had nothing to apologize for and that he shouldn’t contact me again. I already had him blocked on his main accounts, so I blocked the ones he used to message me. When he contacted me again, I did the same thing.
Then his wife used a fake account to message me, calling me an awful person for letting their kids struggle and not have enough of what they needed. I blocked her without responding. When they both tried to contact me again a few more times, I went as far as reporting it to the police.
They really seemed to think I would feel regret or guilt, but I don’t. Their kids are not my responsibility, and they weren’t my mom’s responsibility either. The only reason I have the money I do is because of her. AITA?
Here's what people had to say to OP:
MadCityScientist says:
NTA. Keep your no contact status. Stay in school, go to college. Have a wonderful life!
CocoaAlmondsRock says:
Your dad is a failure at every step. You are NTA. If you don't protect what you have, you won't have anything left. He'll take it, leave you nothing, and never speak to you again, unless you start making a solid salary he wants to take. He's a loser. You were right to emancipate.
Slightlyjacked says:
Not the AH. You protected what was yours from someone who repeatedly crossed boundaries. Their choices aren’t your responsibility.
qwrsr says:
NTA. I’m 16 and I couldn’t imagine what you went through. I am proud that you’ve made an image of yourself and have come so far.