In today's Ask Amy column, Amy Dickinson responds to a mother who is estranged from her children.
My husband and I have seven adult children: Two are his, four are mine, and one is “ours.” All are estranged at this time.
I worded my will that the estate is to be divided equally among the children who can show they have been in contact with me within the last six months. That can be through phone records or texts or word of mouth from the others. Estrangement is a disease in my family.My mother was estranged from me, her only child. And now it has hit my children.“Estrangement is a disease in my family.”I’m going to assume that there is no one cause for this generational estrangement, but more that cutting others off is your family’s way of coping with intense emotions.
You were estranged from your mother, and so your children didn’t witness a parent and child coping with the ups and downs of a relationship, resolving conflict, and forgiving one another. Your attempt to resolve this by trying to control your children via your will seems like a superficial fix to a deep problem. A therapist might help you to find other ways to undo your legacy of estrangement.
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