Father Took $30K From Daughter's College Fund Set Up By Late Mother & Spent It On His New Wife

Nov 06, 2021 by apost team

When it is time to start thinking about paying for your child's college tuition, trying to come up with enough money is difficult for a lot of families. Some are able to save up and set aside a fund, while others support their kids in other ways. A man and his late wife set up a college fund for their daughter, but after getting remarried, he decided to spend the money on his new wife's business venture instead.

The man explained that he is 55 and his wife of two years is 31. Apparently, she had been feeling down about her life and needed something to focus on. He said that she never finished college and felt it was too late to try so getting a job wouldn't be an option. This is when the wife's sister suggested that they start a boutique together. The husband was eager to help, in order to make his new wife happy, so he took $30,000 from his daughter's school fund and invested it in his wife's business. 

The father justified his actions by saying that his daughter still has a few years before she starts college, and his finances should be "more liquid" by then. When he told his daughter what he did, she was understandably furious. Now the dad is wondering if he did something wrong. He posted his story on Reddit in 2020 to get the opinions of other users.

The majority of users on Reddit agreed, this father should not have touched his daughter's college fund. Least of all to spend it on his new wife. Keep reading to learn more about this father's story.

The man started off his post by explaining that his new wife had been unhappy. He wrote: 

"My (55M) wife of two years (31) is very unhappy with her life because she feels like there's never anything fun or important to do. She did not finish college and feels too old to do so, so jobs are also out of the question. So it is no wonder that when her sister said she wanted to start her own boutique and take my wife on as a business partner that my wife's moods started drastically shifting upwards."

The dad felt it was okay to take from his daughter's college fund because he would be able to repay the money before she went to university. He said: 

"Starting a boutique is rather costly and it's been tough to get investment on their end because potential investors are saying that there are too many boutiques. But I believe in their passion and think that this, if it worked out, would be a good chance for my wife to feel like she's doing something meaningful. I'm not terribly liquid right now, but it will be another 4 years before my daughter goes to college, so I ended up investing $30,000 from the fund that her late mother and I put together."

"I told her and she was furious with me and kept trashing my wife's business idea saying it was dumb and she was dumb. It's not like my daughter is going to college soon but right now I really want to make my wife happy and not go into an early midlife crisis because she feels powerless in her life. She said herself this was a chance for her to do something important for her life," the dad added.

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Commenters on Reddit agreed that the man was out of line. "That money is for your daughter's future, something that your late wife invested in. Your wife is only 31. That's not too old to finish college or to do literally anything else that doesn't require you attempting to drain your daughter's fund. If your daughter comes across this, I'd advise her to contact a trusted family member to talk some sense into you," wrote one user.

Another person commented: "So your wife's distorted view of age limits on degrees was enough for you to steal from your daughter's future and perhaps delay her chance? ... Good timing on a boutique in this economy. BTW. Might want to schedule all that time you're gonna have with your daughter rightfully resenting you and holding it against your current wife."

Other users were concerned that the father didn't seem to have a plan to replace the money. "You didn't answer the important question: do you have a plan to replace the 30K? Even if you do, how are you going to make up for the 4 years of contributions that you will be missing to make it up," a different person wrote.

Finally, commenters agreed that opening a boutique is a bad idea in general. A fourth user said:

"There's a reason they can't get a loan. If the bank says there are too many boutiques, guess what, there probably are too many boutiques. Having a 'passion' isn't enough. If the market is saturated, it won't matter how passionate you are. Sure, there's a chance your boutique will be so amazing that you'll put everyone else out of business, but that chance is somewhere between slim and none. Certainly not large enough to steal your daughter's college fund."

What do you think of this father's actions? What would your reaction be if this happened to you? Let us know and be sure to send this along to your friends and family.