After Poor Man’s Death, His Family Receives an Inheritance and Finds Out He Was a Millionaire – Story of the Day

When Charles died, his children and grandchildren were shocked when a lawyer called them to read the will. Charles lived poorly and had only a rundown house to give, but the lawyer revealed something shocking that they never imagined.

"My Dad didn't have anything to his name. All he had was that house, and it's going to take a lot of repairs now that we're going to inherit it," Monica's mother, Martha, explained, but it was more of a complaint. Her father, Charles, died, and they suddenly received a call from his lawyer that they should go in for a will reading in his office in California.

"Mom, don't complain. We all loved Grandpa Charles," Monica scolded her mother gently.

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"Of course, sweetie. I'm just saying that I wished he had saved his money better. John and I helped him out all the time, but it was never enough," Martha continued.

Charles lived poorly. His house was a disaster, and he seemed to have sold off most kitchen appliances. At some point, Martha and John thought that he might be into gambling or drinking because he blew every penny they sent and never had enough to repair his home. But it was odd. He didn't seem like that kind of person.

"But we're family. And we're going to go to the will reading and see what it's about. Uncle John and my cousins have to go too, and I don't want to hear any more complaints," Monica continued with an authoritative voice.

"Yes, honey. We'll go. But you know it will be a waste of time," Martha griped at her daughter because she honestly didn't see the point.

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John thought the same way when the will-reading day arrived, and he told everyone at the lawyer's office, "I don't see why we're here. We know the house is all Dad had, and it's more of a nuisance than a boon for us at this point. I wish we could've kept it in better shape all these years," he complained.

"Stop it," Monica scolded her uncle.

"Dad's right," one of her cousins, Lydia, said. "We're going to have to repair that house and spend thousands of dollars before we can sell it. At least, it's in a good location, so it might be worth it."

"Lydia, that's enough," Monica said to Lydia, getting mad that her family was being insensitive. "We have to be here and see what Grandpa had to say. It's not that hard, and we should not complain. We should be sad that he is gone."

"Monica, we're all sad," her other cousin, Greg, chimed in. "But dealing with this stuff when someone just died is so awful. We have to be pragmatic and think ahead. It's going to be a long battle before we can sell that house."

"It's what you do when someone dies. Deal with it," Monica finished, shushing everyone as the lawyer's secretary came to usher them into his office for their appointment.

"Thank you for coming, everybody. I'll be brief and to the point. Charles didn't draft an extensive will, but please sit down," the lawyer, Mr. Carlberg, told them as he shuffled some papers around his desk. "Here we go."

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Monica sat, hoping that her mom and uncle wouldn't start complaining once again. They were acting like children, and she knew it might be part of their grief process. But she was getting tired of it. Grandpa only ever cared about his family, and they were acting awfully.

"To my children and grandchildren, I bequeath my house with all its contents, which is not much. But I have three safety deposit boxes in the bank that I hope will make you understand why I lived the way I did," the lawyer read and looked at the family.

"Safety deposit boxes?" Martha questioned, not knowing what could be in them.

"Dad was storing something there?" John added, not understanding at all.

"You should take a look at them whenever you can," Mr. Carlberg stated, giving them the keys and necessary paperwork. Monica, Lydia, and Greg didn't want to meddle and left their parents to deal with that stuff.

Therefore, Martha and John decided to go to the bank to see what these safety boxes they never knew about were holding. The manager greeted them like old friends, and it seemed like he had known Charles for a long time.

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"I'm sorry, sir. Was my father saving stuff in here for a long time?" Martha asked, hoping to get answers before they opened the boxes.

"Yes. It's been so many years; way before I started working here, in fact. Your father was one of the best customers in this bank, and we all loved seeing him come in," the manager replied, shocking them because banks only liked people with money.

Finally, they opened each box and discovered something they had never imagined. Charles invested all his money in jewelry and gemstones. There were diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and more precious stones. There were also necklaces, rings, bracelets, and everything. It was almost like a royal collection of jewelry. Any woman would swoon at all the sparkle.

Martha couldn't believe it and looked at John with her surprised expression. "Jesus, we really judged our father wrong," she told him.

"Yes, we did," he responded breathlessly and smiled.

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The family equally divided the gems, which were worth millions of dollars by that point. They sold a part of them for the repairs of Grandpa's house and put it up for sale, increasing their net worth.

They enjoyed the money, but they never complained about their grandfather's attitude and lifestyle anymore. He had done something extraordinary for them.

What can we learn from this story?

• Never judge a book by its cover. Martha and John thought their father was blowing the money they gave him on something illegal, but he was doing something wonderful for their future.
• Family helps each other out. Even when they thought that Charles was blowing the money, the family still helped him as best they could.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an older man who left his old barn to his granddaughter and everything else to his girlfriend.

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