After Catherine tossed a childhood jacket, she thought she had let go of her painful past. But the next morning, a knock at the door brought her face-to-face with someone she hadn’t seen in decades and forced her to make a choice she might end up regretting.
That Saturday morning started like any other. Catherine tied her hair up, pulled on her faded blue sweatshirt, and grabbed a bucket of cleaning supplies. Her husband, Andrew, had taken the kids into the city to run errands, and she’d decided to tackle the attic, something she’d been putting off for months.
A woman in her 30s standing in a dirty attic holding cleaning supplies | Source: Midjourney
As she climbed the ladder, she felt a slight chill in the air. January wasn’t exactly the best time for attic cleaning, but it was better than leaving it undone.
Dust motes floated in the thin streams of light peeking through the small attic window as Catherine started opening old boxes. Each one was like peeling back a layer of her life: baby photos of her kids, mementos from her college days, and even her wedding veil.
But at the bottom of a weathered trunk, she found a small red jacket.
A red jacket in a trunk in an attic | Source: Midjourney
She froze, the sight of it pulling her back to a memory she thought she’d buried. She could almost feel the icy wind on her cheeks and hear the creak of the heavy oak doors at that old children’s shelter. It had the name of a saint that Catherine couldn’t remember.
But she would never forget being four years old, holding on to a second-hand teddy bear and being dressed in that jacket, as her mother knelt in front of her.
A little girl wearing a red jacket, looking sad, in front of a building outside in the snow | Source: Midjourney
“Be strong, Katie,” her mother had whispered with trembling lips. With a kiss on the forehead and one last lingering glance, her mother was gone, swallowed by the snow and darkness.
Catherine hadn’t seen her since.
She stared at that small jacket, her fingers tracing the frayed edges. For years, it had been a symbol of resilience. But now, holding it, she wondered if it had also been holding her back. She was no longer that abandoned child.
A woman in her 30s holding a red jacket and thinking in an attic | Source: Midjourney
She was a successful business owner, a wife, and a mother to two kids, Tom and Tana. Maybe it was time to let go.
Before she could second-guess herself, she carried the jacket downstairs and out to the curb. The trash bin lid creaked as she lifted it and tossed the jacket inside.
It felt oddly liberating, like closing the final chapter of a painful book.
***
The next morning, Catherine was just blinking awake when Andrew’s voice rang out from downstairs. “Honey, you need to come downstairs!”
A woman in her 30s just blinking awake in the morning in bed | Source: Midjourney
She frowned and stood, throwing on her robe on the way to the door. “What’s going on?” she called out as she walked to the stairs.
When she reached the bottom, she saw Andrew standing at the front door, and their kids peeking out from behind him, eyes wide with curiosity. On the porch stood an older woman in tattered clothes. Her face was weathered and lined.
But what Catherine noticed most was that the woman clutched the red jacket in her hands. Her heart skipped a beat.
A woman in her 60s, disheveled and wearing dirty clothes, stands outside a front door timidly holding a red jacket | Source: Midjourney
“I found this in your trash,” the woman said, her voice shaky but strong. “I… I always dig up things in the bins around this area. I was… looking for something to keep warm, and I saw it. But then I realized… I recognized it.”
When their eyes met, something inside Catherine shifted; the woman looked familiar in a way that made her stomach churn.
“Hi, Katie,” the woman said softly as tears pooled in her eyes.
For a moment, Catherine couldn’t breathe. “No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “It can’t be.”
A woman in her 30s standing at the bottom of home stairs looking shocked | Source: Midjourney
“It’s me,” the woman said, clutching the jacket tighter. “It’s your mama.”
Andrew cleared his throat. “Maybe you should come inside,” he said gently, gesturing for the woman to venture into the house.
Catherine nodded and waved the woman over. They went into the kitchen. The kids lingered in the doorway. They were old enough to know that their mother didn’t have a mother because she had been in shelters and foster homes all her life.
So, this was probably confusing.
Two kids standing in a doorway looking curious and confused | Source: Midjourney
The woman, Margaret, sat at the kitchen table, her hands still holding onto the jacket. Catherine set a mug of tea in front of her.
“Honey,” Catherine said, gesturing to Andrew. “Can you take the kids outside to play in the snow?”
Her husband nodded and moved their reluctant kids away. They would explain what happened later, but for now, this was an adult conversation.
Once they left, Catherine sat in front of Margaret with her cup of tea. After a tense silence, she finally dared to ask, “Why now? After all these years?”
A cup of tea on a kitchen table | Source: Pexels
Margaret stared into her tea, her eyes glistening. “I never wanted to leave you, Katie. I swear I didn’t. But I was drowning. I had no money, no food, and barely a roof over our heads. No one would hire me and even if they did, I had no one to watch you. I thought the shelter could give you what I couldn’t.”
“You just… left me,” Catherine croaked. “You didn’t even try.”
In Margaret’s eyes, Catherine saw decades of regret. “I thought I was doing what was best for you. I told myself you’d hate me less if you grew up thinking I didn’t want you, instead of seeing me fail you every day. I pictured you being adopted by a rich family.”
A little girl in a red jacket, happy with two adults in the background on a snowy day | Source: Midjourney
Catherine clenched her fists at the words. She wanted to scream and tell Margaret to leave because none of that had happened. Her childhood had been more than rough. No one ever truly loved or cared about her.
That’s why she’d built her current life, from the ground up, with her sweat, blood, and tears. But she wouldn’t turn Margaret away. Catherine wanted to believe her.
“Well, that dream didn’t happen. And I don’t know what you want from me now,” Catherine said finally. “I’m not that little girl anymore. I’ve built a life, a good one, but it was so tough to do it. I don’t know if I can let you in it.”
A woman in her 30s at a kitchen table with a cup of tea looking sad and upset | Source: Midjourney
Margaret nodded slowly. “I understand. I don’t deserve to be a part of your life, and I see what you’ve built. It’s so much more than anything I’ve ever had. I just… I had to see you after I found the jacket. Not only that, but I had to know you were okay. That you were doing better than me, and I’m glad that you are.”
With those words, Margaret took just a small sip of her tea and stood. Catherine watched as her long-lost mother walked to the front door, her shoulders hunched in shame.
A woman in her 60s sitting sadly at a kitchen table with a cup of tea | Source: Midjourney
She was going to let her go, just like the jacket, but she stood. “Wait,” she called, and Margaret turned her head slightly. “You can stay for today and tonight. But after that… we’ll see.”
Margaret’s face lit up. “Thank you, Katie. Thank you.”
That night, Catherine gave Margaret clean clothes and a hot shower and set her up in the guest room. Before bed, Catherine handed her $2,000 in cash.
A woman handing over a wad of cash | Source: Pexels
“This is for you,” she said. “You can use it to get back on your feet, or you can leave tomorrow and never come back. It’s your choice.”
Margaret hesitated, her eyes shining bright with tears. “I’ll make it count, Katie. I promise.”
The next morning, Catherine woke early and went downstairs, half expecting to find the guest room empty.
It was. The bed was neatly made, and Margaret was gone. Additionally, the cash was nowhere to be seen. Catherine sighed, shaking her head. She should’ve known better.
A neatly made bed in a nice room | Source: Pexels
She was relieved they’d only introduced Margaret to the kids as an old friend, not their grandmother.
Catherine knew her kids were skeptical of this explanation, especially since they’d overheard Margaret saying, “Your mama,” but they would have to forget about it.
She didn’t want them to experience any kind of abandonment. Their lives had to be different from hers. Feeling it again was already painful enough.
Two hours later, as the family sat down to eat breakfast, the sound of a key turning in the lock made them all freeze.
A key in the front door of a house with the door opening | Source: Pexels
The door opened, and Margaret walked in, her arms full of grocery bags.
“Good morning! I went out to the market early. I thought I’d make some soup for lunch,” Margaret said with a small smile. “And maybe roast a chicken for the kids. Oh, I grabbed the keys from that bowl. I hope you don’t mind.”
Catherine blinked as her eyes darted between her mother and Andrew. “No,” she said softly. “I don’t mind.”
Andrew smiled and seeing their parents happy, the kids got excited about roasted chicken.
Margaret spent the day cooking and playing with the children. By dinnertime, the house was filled with warmth and laughter as she doted on Tom and Tana.
A woman in her 60s cooking in the kitchen smiling while two kids are helping in the background | Source: Midjourney
It was something Catherine would never have expected in a million years. Even more surprising was the fact that she didn’t want Margaret to leave.
A few days later, she told her children who Margaret truly was, and a little more about her childhood, as well as why Margaret hadn’t been around until now.
They took the story seriously, but their hearts were so pure they forgave Margaret immediately, and it only took a few more weeks before they started calling her grandma.
Two kids smiling happily in a living room | Source: Midjourney
So, Margaret stayed and became a part of their lives. She helped with the kids, lent a hand with Catherine’s jewelry business, and even showed a knack for designing new pieces.
Catherine forgave her mother, not all at once, but slowly, piece by piece. And in doing so, she found something she didn’t know she needed: a family that felt complete.
Eventually, she bought a new red jacket to symbolize this life she built from effort… but also, compassion.
A woman in her 30s smiling widely standing outside a house watching snow fall while wearing a red jacket | Source: Midjourney
People Reveal the Craziest Wills They Ever Saw
From disowning a child to secretly leaving everything to a stranger, people have written many unexpected things in their wills that are only revealed to their family members after their demise. Many times, people have used this closing act to take revenge on their loved ones.
With age, many people tend to think about what would happen to their loved ones after death. They know there’s only much they can do to support them, and with that comes the thought of writing a will. The final document decides what would happen to their assets and property after their death.
A document with the title “Last Will and Testament” | Source: Shutterstock
Many people write their will when they are healthy and doing fine, but others do it after the doctors tell them they don’t have much time to live. Some divide their assets into parts and leave them for their close ones, while others write something unpredictable that shocks their family.
Netizens on Reddit shared some of the craziest and most bizarre things people wrote in their wills. Many of their family members had no idea what was coming their way.
Comments have been edited for clarity and grammar.
1. The Unexpected Trust Fund
A fish in a fishbowl | Source: Pexels
u/scarlett_pimpernel: I am a qualified solicitor. A lady wanted to create a trust fund of £100,000 for her pet fish. When I asked if it was a particular type of fish, she confirmed it was just an ordinary goldfish.
She wanted it to be fed fresh avocado daily and looked after by a local dog walker after she died. She was absolutely serious.
2. No One Knows about Her
An older woman looking at a young girl | Source: Shutterstock
u/scarlett_pimpernel: Another lady confessed she had a secret daughter and wanted to leave the daughter some money and photographs without the rest of her family finding out. Even her husband does not know. That will be a fun conversation when she passes away.
3. The Lucky Man
A bus driver | Source: Shutterstock
u/mommy5dearest: I worked at an attorney’s office, and a little older lady gave her house and belongings to a bus driver.
She did it because he was nice to her and would help her. We were all waiting for hell to break loose when her family found out.
Her family can contest it. I was a witness to the signing. She seemed fine and knew the answers to the questions, so she wasn’t having mental problems as far as we could tell.
4. The Interesting Clause
A lawyer talking to a man | Source: Shutterstock
u/WanderCold: I was in my early twenties when I was forced to write a will because of the health insurance I got at work. I discussed it with the in-house lawyer, who approved this specific clause to be added to my will.
The clause read, “My funeral wishes are that I should be buried in a coffin which has been springloaded, such that opening the coffin would cause alarm to future archeologists.”
Then, a bunch of stuff about if this is too costly, I’d be cremated and have my ashes scattered in a specific place.
5. Don’t Forget My Horse!
A woman riding a horse | Source: Shutterstock
u/gabberrella24: I work in probate. The oddest thing I’ve seen in a will is to euthanize their beloved horse, have it cremated, and its ashes scattered with the decedent.
Lucky for her horse, she named a horse that was already dead when she passed away, so the one she got afterward lived to see another farm.
6. A List of Strange Wills
A dog sleeping on a bed | Source: Shutterstock
u/PirateRobotNinjaofDe: Lots of people send their friends and family on weird errands to spread their ashes (leaving money for people to take trips and spread their ashes around the world).
Pet trusts are a fun one. People leave a whole whack of money in a trust to be used for the care of their pets during their life.
However, my favorite ever (that I obviously didn’t draft) was a lawyer who left the bulk of his estate (millions in today’s dollars) to whatever Toronto-area woman had the most children at a specific date some years later. I recall the winner had 10.
7. My Grandfather’s Wish
An older woman standing near a window | Source: Shutterstock
u/snoboreddotcom: A few hours after my grandfather’s death, my grandmother came to me with a navy-blue tie featuring pink elephants.
Ridiculous looking, but she said he wore it to intimidate people in business, as someone willing to wear such a ridiculous tie doesn’t care about what people think. That scares people. He wanted me to have it so I could do the same.
8. Different Wishes
A woman signing a documents | Source: Shutterstock
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: I work for a lawyer who does wills. We’ve had a lady put in her will that one of her adult sons would receive his share when he visited a dentist, and the other son would get it if he lost 70lbs.
Another lady put in her will that she wanted her cats cremated with her when she died. We told her that would not happen since human and animal remains are not cremated together. So, she settled on cremated separately and joined together, then buried together.
9. The Long Will
Close-up of a document with the title “Last Will and Testament” | Source: Shutterstock
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: Typically, wills are about ten pages long (for an average person), but a woman once wrote 56 pages.
She detailed EVERYTHING from her house to people. For example, she wrote, “wooden ladle to ____, toilet paper holder to ____, magazine basket to ____.” She did this for every single item in her house.
10. She Wanted to Be with Her Husband
A small house between trees | Source: Pexels
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: A lady told us to put in her will that she wanted to be buried on her property next to her husband. She lived on a small rural property.
It’s totally illegal to have human remains buried there. She refused to tell us whether her husband was cremated or not and said she did not want to be cremated.
Edit: Her husband had died 5 or 6 years prior. So, it’s not as though it was 50 years ago when things like that may have been a little overlooked.
11. Some Good People
A person signing a document | Source: Shutterstock
u/ALighterShadeOfPale: We had a man put in his will that his family was to go to the zoo immediately after his burial (that day). We thought that was heartwarming.
Besides that, we work with many people from a particular religion. Many people we write wills for leave at least 90% of their estates to the church instead of their families.
12. The Elvis Impersonator
A young man smiling | Source: Shutterstock
u/whatshisfaceboy: I’m not a lawyer, but I have this story of my rich uncle. He would visit us when we were kids, maybe once every ten years. The last time he did, he brought us to a Denny’s.
When he died, he had no friends. Besides that, his wife died due to substance abuse, and that was because of him. He left his entire estate to an Elvis impersonator. Everything.
13. The Only Beneficiary
A person holding money | Source: Shutterstock
u/AnotherDrunkCanadian: I used to work at a bank in the estate department. I was an administrator who had to manage the files, including encroachments upon the capital, i.e., “I want to take some money out now, please.”
I had this one account – a multi-million-dollar trust for one single beneficiary – the son of the deceased. Everything about the account looked fine until I learned the child was behind his parents’ death and pleaded insanity.
He was in a mental hospital and called the bank once a year requesting $50 for commissary (to buy chips and gum).
The call was always strange. He was very polite, but the quality of the call made it sound like he was far away from the phone.
14. They Wanted to Take Revenge
A cat sitting behind a curtain | Source: Pexels
u/Dr_BrOneil: Last week, I handled a matter where the parents left millions in artwork to various people and wads of cash to various charities. Meanwhile, their kids got the family cats as revenge.
It turned out they did it because the kids got them the cats to comfort the parents in their old age. The parents hated the cats, but the kids wouldn’t let them get rid of them.
15. He Wanted to Give Them Something
An older man walking on a street | Source: Shutterstock
u/gaurddog: My great uncle’s official will stated that the contents of his outhouse would go to the City Council of a nearby town after they had tried to take his land twice to build a new water treatment plant.
He spent several years fighting eminent domain claims and wanted to give them something in return. As a joke, his kids boxed up all the books and magazines in the outhouse and dropped them off at City Hall.
16. The Man Was Clueless
A man leaning against a taxi | Source: Pexels
u/[deleted]: I am not a lawyer but work for a will writers/trusts specialist in the UK, currently studying toward my TEP.
One of our earlier clients passed away recently. Turns out the man she left almost everything to, including the residue of her estate–which was considerable–was her regular taxi driver.
She had also named him as her executor. He had no clue. The woman named as her executor and primary beneficiary in her previous two wills, a close friend of many years, was understandably flabbergasted and contested the will.
We responded to her solicitor’s Larke v Nugus request, informed Mr. Taxi Driver (who didn’t even know our client had passed), and the will was upheld.
The friend mentioned above was left a legacy of £5,000 if I remember correctly, but her nose was clearly out of joint.
Bonus observation: It takes a lot less than £ 5,000 being up for grabs to make families turn against each other. It can get really nasty. This is one of the most startling things I’ve learned in my short time in this business.
17. Hidden Fortune
The last will and testament | Getty Images
Deleted user: So, my grandma, bless her heart, lived in this old, run-down trailer for years. Dirt poor, but you wouldn’t know it by the way my husband acted.
He was like a cat on a hot tin roof, waiting for her to pass. He had this wild notion in his head that grandma was sitting on a hidden fortune and that he’d inherit a ticket to Easy Street when she kicked the bucket. Cut to the will reading day.
My husband’s practically rubbing his hands together, telling me, “Sugar, put on a smile, we’re about to be rolling in dough.” We get there, and the lawyer’s all business, asking, “Who’s the ‘husband’ there?” My guy steps up: “That’s me. Is there a problem?”
Then my jaw hitting the floor. The Lawyer: Not at all…The last will of grandma states that the grandma has a hidden fortune. However, it’s to be inherited by the husband only if he fulfills three specific conditions. Otherwise, the entire estate goes to the local animal shelter.”
First, he must live for a year in her old trailer, maintaining it without any modern upgrades or outside help. Second, he’s required to volunteer at the animal shelter every weekend for the next two years.
And finally, he must write a personal essay on the value of humility and compassion, to be read publicly at the shelter’s annual fundraiser.
My husband’s face turned from greedy anticipation to utter disbelief. Grandma sure knew how to teach a lesson from beyond the grave!
A man signing a document | Source: Pexels
These stories shared by Redditors prove that being a part of someone’s will can make your life better or destroy it forever. It only takes a few sentences to change people’s lives if one decides to mention them in their will. What’s the most bizarre thing you have ever read in someone’s will or heard about? We would love to know about it.
Leave a Reply