{"id":7858395,"date":"2026-09-11T01:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T07:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=7858395"},"modified":"2026-09-06T17:56:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T23:56:56","slug":"family-heirlooms-asking-eric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2026\/09\/11\/family-heirlooms-asking-eric\/","title":{"rendered":"Asking Eric: Widowed stepmother won\u2019t return family heirlooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Eric:<\/strong> Ten years ago, my dad passed away, and after 25 years of marriage, within a few months, my stepmom started dating again. She is now involved with a partner who is kind and fair.<\/p>\n

My issue is with her assumed role as conservator of my family\u2019s things. Nothing of huge value, but of great importance to me. My father was a writer, and his parents were classical composers. Things like my grandfather\u2019s grand piano and library were given to my dad and are still in his house.<\/p>\n

My father was a deeply sentimental person, as am I, so I find it difficult to believe he left my sister and I nothing to remember him by. What seems more likely is she has chosen not to execute his will.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps he trusted her, we\u2019ll never know. This woman travels constantly and has a taste for the finer things.<\/p>\n

Recently, I have contacted her regarding my grandmother\u2019s estate, which was left to my dad. By default, this woman now has it in her possession.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019ve asked for even small things with no significance to her, paintings, my great-grandmother\u2019s ring, etc. she has shut it down expertly. I\u2019m not a calculating person; I just want my things. We keep a very superficial relationship, my sister wretches when she comes up. So, it\u2019s all on me. I want to do right by my family, and this just isn\u2019t it.<\/p>\n

— Lost Heirlooms<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Heirlooms:<\/strong> If your father did have a will for which your stepmother was the executor, she does not have the option of simply choosing not to execute it. While executors have time to complete estate administration,10 years stretches beyond reasonable expectations.<\/p>\n

So, it behooves you to try to determine if there was a will. You can talk to an estate attorney about your options there and with regard to making a formal request for some of the other heirlooms.<\/p>\n

It would be a shame for this to escalate to a legal back-and-forth, but if she hasn\u2019t executed the will, or if she\u2019s being unresponsive to requests for items to which she has no connection, that may be your only recourse.<\/p>\n

Dear Eric:<\/strong> I have an incurable disease that governs my life. I\u2019ve had this disease for years, but the past four years I\u2019ve deteriorated quite significantly and I never know if I can keep plans or go out with others until the last minute.<\/p>\n

Because of this, I can\u2019t eat from restaurants, I must carry my own food, and my friends have completely stopped asking me to join them in any capacity — even a group outing where me not coming wouldn\u2019t hinder the event.<\/p>\n

I feel very left out. I\u2019ve expressed this and for a bit I was \u201cre-included\u201d but I\u2019ve gotten very ill this last year and I\u2019m even more house bound.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d be OK with people gathering at my place just so I can have a social life, but I don\u2019t live near them, like 30 minutes away. They say it\u2019s a burden to drive out to me, yet I see they post on social media places that are out by me or 30 minutes from them in the other direction.<\/p>\n

They refer to me as a great friend. Some say BFF. But I\u2019m treated like I don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

What do you suggest? I\u2019m only 62 and may have many years to go, although not the healthiest, but I\u2019m still here.<\/p>\n

— Feeling Left Out<\/em><\/p>\n