For ten years, Mary helped to raise her grandchildren while her daughter Meg and son-in-law Bob were building a business. In addition to seed money and two additional loans totaling nearly $1 million dollars, Mary’s husband Sam, a business consultant, helped the young couple set up a retail business.
Mary’s relationship with her daughter Meg had been stormy since Meg’s teenage years. Mary hoped that by helping out with her grandchildren, whom she adored, she could draw closer to her daughter and free up Meg's time to work with her husband in the business.
Meg and Bob continually postponed seeking their own sources of credit. Last year, they asked Mary and Sam for another loan. Their request came at a time when Sam was still recovering from the 2008 crash of their retirement portfolio.Sam asked Bob if he could see the business details in the hope that he could find ways to help the children without selling off any more of his assets.
Bob refused, angry at Sam's request and claiming that his wife's parents were meddling. They tried to get a bank loan, but were refused. Within a few weeks, Meg told her mother that she could no longer be with her grandchildren, saying that she didn’t want her children influenced by people who lacked the compassion and generosity to help their children continue their business.
Mary and Sam, who saw their grandchildren daily for 10 years, haven’t seen them for eight months. Their daugthter intercepts letters, emails and texts. She refuses to seek counseling with or without her parents, blaming them for their business failure.
Mary and Sam are heartbroken, but still concerned about helping their grandchildren. They've set up trusts for their grandchildren .
Their daughter Meg may be trying to prove a point. God only knows what it is.
