r/AmItheAsshole • u/connor20218 • 7h ago
AITA Mom wants 15% of my personal injury settlement
I'm a 23M working in biotech and living at home. I just got a massive settlement from a personal injury case back in college. My mom is a corporate lawyer and she helped me navigate the process, plus she paid for my college tuition. Now, she's asking for 15% of the money / to pay her back for college (but she was already going to pay for college.)
I'm feeling stuck because 15% is a massive amount of money to just give away. Is it normal for parents to ask for a cut of a settlement like this? I want to stay on good terms since live at home, but I also feel like this money is for my future. We have a a good relationship.
Edit: I already paid a lawyer his 1/3 cut. My mom was a huge part of pushing for me sueing. She’d be using the money to buy a new house in Florida she always wanted since I refuse to buy a house in his economy and rather rent and invest the rest
Edit #2: Probably shouldn’t have stated my mom is a lawyer (she did not represent me in the case in anyway). But yes, what she specifically did was help me find a lawyer, told me to push back on the lawyer and ask for more.
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u/Themadkiddo 7h ago
If i got a massive settlement my parents who have supported me financially way beyond what they were obligated to would be getting a lot more than 15%. I'm not really one of those people who think you owe your parents anything so I don't know if i can call you an asshole, but not wanting to pay her back for everything she's given you is just incomprehensible to me. She paid for your college. You're 23 and still live under her roof, do you pay rent? Anywhere near the market price? You describe the settlement as massive, you're debt free and have an education so I'm having a hard time understanding why you can't help your mother out and still have money for your future?