DEAR ABBY: My 40-year-old daughter has never worked. She never married but has a 5-year-old son and is expecting a girl in six months. My husband bought a house for her to live in, but she didn't like it. When he passed away, I bought her a different house and sold the first one.
I footed all the bills on both houses. I used my savings to pay cash for the second home. Since she didn't like that one either, we put it on the market, and it quickly sold. I put both our names on that house, thinking that way she wouldn't be able to take out a loan against it without my knowledge. My daughter wants me to split the proceeds, although she never paid a dime for it. She refuses to sign the closing documents unless I agree.
She has 60 days to move, but I don't want her to move in with me. If I don't agree, I'll never see my grandkids again. She's been in rehab for drugs and alcohol several times. She's clean now because she's pregnant. Should I let her move in? Shell have half the money from the house, so she could live on it for a couple of years and then would probably be on the street. -- MOM OF A WOMAN-CHILD
DEAR MOM: It's time to allow her to do something she should have done 20 years ago: assume responsibility for the life choices she has made. That she would blackmail you after everything you and her father have done for her is despicable. You WILL see your grandkids again. If she can't provide for them, child protective services will be contacting you. For your own sake and for theirs, be strong. Allow her to suffer the consequences of her actions and do not cave in to her demands.