Hey love, Ive got to tell you whats been happening with the family farm. Yesterday my brother Tom rang me up and asked if I could hand over my share of the old cottage to him. His only excuse was that hed been looking after Dad for the past three years.
Just to give you the backdrop when I started university I moved out of the family house in Leeds. After I graduated I stayed in the city, landed a decent job, got married to Lucy and we soon welcomed our little boy, Harry. Tom also got married, but he kept living with Mum and Dad for a while. I cant say anything bad about him hes a solid bloke and his wife Clara is wonderful. They lived peacefully with our parents for years until they had their two kids.
Even though we were all on our own and could still pop over to the farm whenever we wanted, my fatherinlaw still gave us a car as a wedding gift. Every summer wed drive down to the coast for a break and help Mum and Dad with the house and garden. Ethel, the neighbour whos always been close to Mum, used to pitch in too everyone wanted to lend a hand. Then, three years ago, Mum passed away and I couldnt help as much as Id liked. On top of that the costofliving crunch hit us hard, so I had to pick up extra shifts just to keep our flat.
We barely had time to go into town. A month ago Dad died, and we all pulled together to sort the funeral, splitting the costs evenly between Tom, Lucy and me. Now, with Toms call about the cottage, Im a bit stunned. Dad was on a modest state pension that even helped the grandkids a bit, so why would he need any extra cash? Especially not from a farm property.
Tom says hes taken care of Dad, but Im not sure what he means by that. Mum and Dad never said the cottage would go to him alone, and I dont want to wreck our relationship. Ive got a loan to pay off, and Harry might still get some support from his grandparents. I told Tom Id have to talk it over with Lucy first, but Im honestly at a loss about what to do.
Any ideas on how we can handle this without tearing the family apart? I could really use a friendly ear. Thanks, love.
