Line #69 Main/InheritanceBacklash


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7	->''"Welcome home, such as it is. This squalid hamlet, these corrupted lands, they are yours now, and you are bound to them."''
8	-->-- '''The Ancestor''', ''Videogame/DarkestDungeon''
9
10	Good news: your old and rarely-heard-from uncle died and left you an amazing old mansion in the countryside! There's one small detail that the will forgot to mention: it's infested by a fear-eating wraith that will prevent you from leaving the minute you walk through the door. And that shiny old medallion that your great aunt left to you is actually the home of a powerful demon, and the magnificent [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] that you obtained from that old friend of yours is wanted by the Yakuza, and so on.
11
12	This trope is usually played at the start of a story/arc as a justification for the plot, which usually revolves about the heir dealing with the unwanted side effects of their inheritance. [[HauntedHouse Ghost-infested mansions]] are a frequent choice, but the "side effect" can also be mundane (e.g. the house has a severe infestation of cockroaches, spiders and centipedes). Sometimes it can also be played for laughs.
13
14	If the terrible task is required by the one giving the inheritance to obtain full possession of it, it's OnOneCondition. May overlap with PrestigePeril if the inheritance is a title or HereditaryCurse if it's a curse. May lead to RejectingTheInheritance. A subtrope of BlessedWithSuck. See also WillAndInheritanceTropes. Often a form of {{karma}} for a character who OnlyCaresAboutInheritance.
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16	----
17
18	!!Examples:
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20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23	* In ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', when Faye was revived out of cryostasis, a man named Whitney Haggis Matsumodo claimed to be responsible for rehabilitating her back into society. He does that, and charms her along the way. The truth is that he was a conman who [[FakingTheDead faked his own death]] and left all his assets to Faye. As soon as she gave her thumbprint, she legally acquired millions of wulongs in debt. Her first reaction was FlippingTheTable in rage.
24	-->'''Faye:''' You gotta be KIDDING ME!
25	* In ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'', James' parents want James to get married to this {{yandere}} woman named Jessiebelle simply for inheritance-related reasons. James understandably backs out of this due to how crazy Jesiebelle is.
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder:Comic Books]]
29	* There's a ''Daisy's Diary'' comic where Daisy gets an inheritance from a prince she once interviewed. However, the deceased prince had a lot of debts, and the palace was mortgaged. [[spoiler:Donald find out that the prince faked his death, and intended to escape with the family jewels while Daisy inherited his debts.]]
30	* The French comic ''ComicBook/GreenManor'' has the Spear of Destiny, a historical relic covered in ancient writing. Over the course of the story, it's discovered that it was owned by many famed warriors, all of whom died violently, with the latest being a brutal British general. When the general is found dead (apparently of suicide, despite his successful campaign against African natives), the cops investigating discover the translation of the text, a recipe for an alchemical potion that, combined with the Spear, will bring unimaginable glory to the wielder (the author claimed he was too old for such undertakings). The Spear disappears, stolen by one of the cops. The other one realizes the truth too late: the potion was a drug that induced a feeling of invincibility in the drinker ([[AmbitionIsEvil if they harbored overambitious projects]]), who would then inevitably kill himself in this state. [[BatmanGambit The alchemist who'd written down the recipe intended for would-be conquerers through the ages to remove themselves before they could inflict their dreams on the world.]]
31	* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': The "Kitchen Irish" arc features the PosthumousCharacter Nesbitt, the former head of TheIrishMob and a shining example of EvilOldFolks who hated his successors (and the hate was very much mutual). His will gave the four biggest gangs a piece of code that together showed the location of his fortune. The four gangleaders (who have as much reason to hate each other as they did Nesbitt) finally agree to work together, crack the code and find a chest that... contains a [[ThanatosGambit bomb that goes off when opened]].
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Fan Works]]
35	* ''FanFic/PokemonMysteryDungeonWhatCameAfter'': Gallade's late grandfather, a Wobbuffet, left him a dojo named Wobbuffet Dojo which is [[{{Bizarrchitecture}} built to look like a Wobbuffet]]. Gallade considers this embarrassing.
36	* In ''Series/Numb3rs'' story ''Fanfic/TwasADarkAndStormyNight'', Larry feels this way about a castle-like building he inherited from his cousin Isabel, as he doesn't have fond memories of her and just wants to sell the place. It gets worse when they all get held hostage by the Duckett sisters, as they are using the place to hide stolen paintings, potentially making him an accomplice.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
40	* In ''L'armata Brancaleone'' (or for English speakers: "The Incredible Army of Brancaleone"), the titular character manages to inherit his own citadel just in time to [[spoiler:have to protect it from some Saracen raiders.]]
41	* In ''Film/Thir13enGhosts'', a man in financial trouble inherits a sprawling countryside mansion from his uncle, but the whole building is designed as a prison for deadly ghosts, and once he moves in, his uncle's sinister plan begins to unravel.
42	* This is how ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'' starts out. Fredrick Frankenstein is the chosen inheritor of his great-grandfather, and in order to satisfy the will, he must travel to Transylvania and visit the family castle at least once, which ultimately forces him to face his [[FrankensteinsMonster family legacy]]. This plot element may be difficult to glean, however, as the scenes laying out the details were all deleted from the final film.
43	* Respected restaurateur Ernie Smuntz inherits a box of very old cigars from his departed father, Rudolph Smuntz in Dreamworks' 1997 comedy ''Film/{{Mousehunt}}''. Ernie takes the cigar box to his restaurant, where he leaves it at the back of the kitchen. A huge cockroach escapes from the unguarded cigar box, and turns up during the Mayor's meal. The resulting heart attack ruins Ernie's reputation, condemns his restaurant and leaves him destitute.
44	* In one ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' short Curly inherits from a long lost uncle, but after [[TaxmanTakesTheWinnings Inheritance Tax and other fees]] he ends up owing money.
45	* In ''Film/{{Casper}}'', the Whipstaff Manor where Casper and his uncles reside is inherited by [[BigBad Carrigan Crittenden]] following her father's death. She's not happy about this until she learns there's a treasure hidden within. Her seeking out this treasure would ultimately [[spoiler:lead to her own karmic death]].
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Literature]]
49	* In the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', Eragon finds out that his precious sword Zar'roc, left to him by his master [[spoiler:and father]] Brom is actually [[spoiler:the sword of Morzan, an evil Dragon Rider who served Galbatorix]].
50	* Inverted in ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho'' when Shurf receives a bequest from a distant relative of his wife. He immediately deduces that the whole thing is fishy and that he was only mentioned in the will in order to set things right, find the proper heir, and hand the inheritance over to him.
51	* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'':
52	** The heir to the Baskerville estate in ''The Hound Of The Baskervilles'' fears he might also have inherited the curse which causes him to be stalked by the eponymous creature. [[spoiler: It's [[DoingInTheWizard actually a large dog]], trained by a nearby distant relative who wants to kill him and claim the estate.]]
53	** In "The Five Orange Pips", a guy receives a mansion from his uncle, but soon he's sent death threats from the KKK because his uncle had some papers incriminating them (unknowingly, these papers had been burnt long ago).
54	* In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'', the series kicks off with our heroine's uncle dying. He leaves her his house, which nearly gets our poor girl killed. Several times.
55	* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' begins with Bilbo, the discoverer of a magical invisibility ring, reluctantly letting his heir Frodo inherit it so he can retire to Rivendell. A few decades later, Gandalf belatedly reveals to Frodo that it's the One Ring, SoulJar of the DarkLord Sauron's vast evil power and greatest threat to Middle-earth. And now it's Frodo's job to sneak it out of the country...
56	* In ''Literature/ReaperMan'' Arthur Winkins great uncle left him an old crumbling castle in {{Uberwald}}, the title of Count, and a nasty case of vampirism. First time anyone was ever turned undead by a lawyer's missive. His wife, Doreen, has embraced it, but Arthur finds it more a nuisance to a small businessman in the fruit and veg trade.
57	* In ''Literature/MakingMoney'', Moist receives Topsy Lavish's dog Mr. Fusspot as part of her will - and it turns out Mr. Fusspot owns 51% of the family bank's shares. Since Moist is his owner, he is now Chairman of the bank (on behalf of Mr. Fusspot, naturally), which prompts the other members of Ms. Lavish's family to try and ruin him to get their bank back.
58	** It's worth noting that they target Moist exclusively. Mr. Fusspot can't be eliminated because every assassin in the city thinks being hired to kill a small dog is degrading.
59	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Harrenhal Castle served as this for many generations of inheritors, capable of driving entire noble families into poverty and extinction with the prohibitive cost of its maintenance and a MaybeMagicMaybeMundane cursed reputation.
60	* Blake Thorburn, the viewpoint protagonist of ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', inherits the Thorburn mansion from his grandmother after the murder of his cousin, only to learn that she was a diabolist practitioner (Someone who trafficks with demon) and nearly everyone in Jacob's Bell is out to kill him because of it.
61	* Creator/ShirleyJackson 's titular real estate in ''Literature/TheHauntingOfHillHouse'' (and its film adaptations) will, eventually, be inherited by Luke Sanderson. Of course, in the first film, he develops the opinion that the house "ought to be burned down and the ground sown with salt", so he may wind up RejectingTheInheritance in spades.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
65	* In ''Series/{{Justified}}'' Dickie Bennett inherits all the money his mother earned during her long and prosperous criminal career. However, he is in prison and cannot just get the money and leave the state. Some very dangerous people know about the money and want it for themselves. Dickie knows that once he gives up the money, he will be killed. To add insult to injury [[spoiler:only a fraction of the money remains after his mother set up a land deal that Dickie was cut out of.]]
66	* ''Series/{{Grimm}}'': Nick's inheritance from his aunt is all the stuff he needs to fight the monsters of lore. It's not that his inheritance is evil, but it is a nasty surprise as he thought he was just normal and not a supernaturally gifted fighter.
67	* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'', Barbara inherits a robot with the exact personality of her hated "Uncle Simon", and she only gets his wealth if she takes care of it.
68	* In the {{Revival}} series of ''Series/{{Route 66}}'' the protagonist inherits his estranged father's car and a few other possessions; after selling off the possessions (but not the car) he still owes money to his father's executor and the feds.
69	* ZigZagged on ''Series/NYPDBlue'': PAA John Irvin's father dies and he is visited by the lawyer handling the estate. The lawyer tells him that there are various taxes, fees, and unpaid bills to be paid off from the estate, which John takes to mean that it will use up any inheritance and he'll have to pay some in addition. But no, after paying everything John and his sister will inherit roughly $800,000. Each.
70	* In an episode of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Sam and Dean get a call that Bobby has received an inheritance from an old friend. However, Bobby has already died so Sam and Dean go as his proxies. The inheritance turns out to be guardianship of a murderous shifter whose mother knew Bobby was a hunter and hoped he would be able to control the shifter.
71	* In ''Series/{{Happy}}'', Mikey Scaramucci is targeted for kidnapping because his uncle Blue thinks that he inherited an extremely valuable password that would give him access to his family's vast fortune. [[spoiler:In reality, what Mikey inherited was a demonic entity named Orcus, who's been bonded to the Scaramucci family for centuries, and when it finally passes to Blue after Mikey's death, it drives him insane.]]
72	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In season 2 Mr. Heckles, who lives in the apartment below Monica and Rachel, dies and leaves everything to [[CeilingBanger "the noisy girls upstairs"]]. Monica is touched by the gesture...until she learns that Heckles' apartment is full of junk that they now have to sort through and throw out.
73	-->'''Monica:''' Would you look at this dump? He hated us. This is his final revenge!
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
77	* Classic ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' Adventure 13 ''Secret of the Ancients''. Trow Beckett receives a statuette in his father's will. Shortly thereafter he's attacked by thugs who are after the statuette and then approached by Imperial agents who want to confiscate it.
78	* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''. This is a staple of ''Call of Cthulhu'' published adventures, to the point that savvy players, if they inherit an old house, will not go there until they've stocked up on the blowtorch fuel.
79	** Supplement ''The Asylum and Other Tales'', adventure "Black Devil Mountain". A PC receives some property as a bequest from their recently deceased brother. It turns out to be near the site of some extremely nasty Franchise/CthulhuMythos activity.
80	** ''H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham: Unveiling the Legend-Haunted City'', adventure "The Books of Uncle Silas". When one of the PlayerCharacters inherits his Uncle Silas's estate, he also receives the attention of a psychotic murderer who wants to obtain Uncle Silas's collection of Franchise/CthulhuMythos books.
81	* There's a ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}}'' chance card from the City versions that tells you you've inherited a remaining property from the bank -- you just have to pay them the Inheritance Tax. Depending on the property you end up with, it could be considered a bargain (even with this version's properly enforced chance to auction properties for lower prices), but can also be over the board cost.
82	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', ''Magazine/{{Dungeon}}'' magazine #26 TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms adventure "The Inheritance". One of the [=PCs=] has inherited a small keep (castle) from his late uncle. The problem: [[OnOneCondition he has only thirty days to travel there, clean out all of the monsters inside, and return to the city of Waterdeep to prove his deed or his inheritance will be lost]]. The opposition includes a tribe of hobgoblins, a dangerous carnivorous ape [[RedEyesTakeWarning with red eyes]], and a ghoul.
83	* ''TabletopGame/MarvelSuperHeroes Advanced Set'' ''Judge's Book''. Random Events includes a windfall: a bequest resulting from being named in another person's will. It can include a haunted house or a magical artifact with a powerful curse that is being sought by a dangerous evil being. The only guarantee is that it will get the PlayerCharacters in a great deal of trouble.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Video Games]]
87	* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' begins with the player inheriting their (now cursed) family estate after the death (by self-inflicted gunshot) of their antecedent. They must now send parties of (likely doomed) adventurers deep into the ruins in order to uncover the truth and redeem their lineage. Oh, said family estate is also the home of an EldritchAbomination that was [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] until said Ancestor set it loose out of [[CuriosityIsACrapshoot curiosity.]]
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
91	* Amanda defies this in ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert''. She doesn’t accept her mother’s very large inheritance because, as per her aunt, she can’t take her father with her to live in luxury.
92	* Averted in ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'' with the title character's inheritance from Melissa. Even though Melody is on rocky terms with Arnold after Melissa’s death, Melody’s inheritance doesn’t cause any tension - partially because Melody herself is unaware of just how much she inherited from her mother.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Web Animation]]
96	* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'':
97	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kONMvmOxlg Akane]], Tokusa's estranged daughter showed up at his funeral to demand his inheritance. It later turned out that Tokusa didn't have much money because of his spending on his living expenses.
98	** After [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJL4VM7N44s Akane's father Akamatsu]] passed away, she demanded his inheritance. Her mother Yuzuriha was angry with her and hatched a plan to screw her over. Yuzuriha took out a huge loan and spent them until her death. Akane inherited only $2500 and a $20,000 debt that she could avoid if she gave up on the inheritance. Akane decided to ignore it, but by the time the debt collectors show up to collect the money, it was too late for Akane to give up the inheritance.
99	* ''WebAnimation/GossipCity'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp-OcWfgpic Akito's father]] decided to leave the inheritance to him despite the former's irresponsibility and his brother Takeshi's objections. It later turned out that their father is in debt to the Ushioni group from paying Akito's debts from gambling. Akito was forced to work at the crab fishing boat by the gang.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Web Comics]]
103	* Pip in ''Webcomic/SequentialArt'' [[http://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php?s=744 inherited a puzzle-box]] from his career criminal uncle. There was a little problem with it, of course... just see the next page.
104	* ''Webcomic/UglyHill'': After Grandpa Killgore dies, it's revealed that his will, which his two adult children had spent most of their lives using as a weapon against eachother and their own families, leaves them [[spoiler: 500.000$ in credit card debts. He did also leave his son his house, but even if he sold that it wouldn't come close to paying off his half of the debt]]
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Western Animation]]
108	* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode [[Recap/FuturamaS2E18TheHonking "The Honking"]], where Bender the robot inherits a creepy old castle in Robo-Hungaria, on the condition that he spends at least one night in the castle. The castle comes complete with holographic ghosts and a computer virus that turns the target robot into a were-car. The were-car that runs Bender over isn't in the castle, but is in the village outside of the castle. Bender gets run over when running away from one of the ghosts in the castle.
109	* The ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' episode "A Night of Fright Is No Delight", in which Scooby Doo is named in a wealthy man's will, but he must spend a night in a haunted house as a condition of receiving his share of the estate. After capturing the MonsterOfTheWeek, Scooby gets the entire estate (as the [=MotW=] had scared everyone else and said Monster was one of them), but it turns out that it was nothing but "worthless" Confederacy money.
110	* The 1942 ''WesternAnimation/MerrieMelodies'' cartoon "The Wabbit Who Came To Supper" has Elmer Fudd inherit $3 million from his Uncle Louie. After a $2 million Inheritance Tax, plus other taxes, liens and attorney fees, Elmer owes $1.98. "Please remit!?"
111	* The 1944 ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoon "The Million Dollar Cat" has Tom inherit $1 million from Aunt Harriet, provided that Tom never harm any living thing, "even a mouse." Jerry, of course, torments Tom beyond all feline endurance. Needless to say, Jerry finds out the hard way that, if pushed far enough, [[RejectingTheInheritance even $1 million won't stop Tom]].
112	* There was an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'' that involves him finding his old relative's treasure chest. Upon opening it, it doesn't contain any riches - it contains IOU instead.
113	** Another, from the Brodax era, had Popeye and Brutus named in the will and testament of Barnacle Bill, who leaves a can of spinach. Brutus is incensed and ambushes Popeye, but Popeye eats the spinach and dispatches of Brutus. It turns out that Barnacle Bill also left $1000. It is awarded to Popeye, who donates it all to an orphans' fund.
114	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'' had Baloo inherit a mansion suspected of being haunted. It ultimately isn't, but Baloo ''also'' inherited the relative's debt and has to give up the mansion to pay it.
115	* A ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode, "Joker's Millions", has the Joker inheriting money from a deceased mob boss who was thought to hate him. Turns out this is true, and with the money (most of which turned out to be counterfeit) came IRS attention that Joker ''could'' have dealt with, but by the time he's told of this he's already blown most of the real cash, as the mob boss expected he would. The Joker is stuck with the choice of either admitting he got conned or figuring out a way to steal enough money to pay his new debts without alerting anyone that he's committing crimes again.
116	* WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb: Doof inherits a castle from a relative and it is delivered to Danville brick by brick. While Vanessa holds a Halloween party, Perry assists Doof in sorting out the scavenger hunt will. He ends up inheriting a fortune... And then having to pay off several government officials. He ends up broke again except for the castle.
117	* Zigzagged in the ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'' episode "Martha Gets Spooked". Mr. and Mrs. Parkington and their dog John get a house left to them by Mrs. Parkington's dead relative, whose name happens to be Martha, so when she hears Martha introduce herself, she thinks the late Martha is haunting the house. Later, a photo of the house shows something that ''[[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane might]]'' be a ghost in the background, but it's probably lens flare.
118	* ''WesternAnimation/NateIsLate'' episode "The Haunted House" has Nate and Malika deliver a letter to what seems to be an abandoned building. But once they go in, it locks them in and they find a man inside who tells them he inherited the house from his deceased aunt and got trapped by the house himself. After a bit they find that the house just wished to be cleaned after years of gathering dust and they manage to stop it's hauntings by doing so. Good timing too as the city was set to tear it down right on that very day. The man convinces the construction crew there no need as he decides he'll keep the house as intended.
119	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' had Klaus find he had gained an inheritance but since he was now stuck in the body of a fish, he had Roger claim he was him to gain it. Turns out however it was just a trap to lure him out as Klaus had enemies who were looking for him.
120	* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': In "The Curse of Klopman", Garfield inherits the Klopman Diamond (a series RunningGag in and of itself) which is worth a fortune. Unfortunately the gem is cursed so something extremely bad happens to Garfield every few minutes until he reaches his breaking point and sells it. In the end he only makes enough money off the sale to pay for all the damage the curse caused so the whole thing is basically a wash.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Real Life]]
124	* A man who hated his estranged wife willed her a single shilling so she could go somewhere and drown herself. The inheritance went unclaimed.
125	* Willing people tiny amounts of money or other such trivial items is more common than you might think. In some jurisdictions, a person not mentioned in the will (especially a direct relation like an estranged child) can make a legal case the deceased forgot to include them, leading to messy disputes over what share they "should" have gotten. Willing such a person a negligible sum (like a single dollar or one postage stamp of a collection) is proof they were remembered and left out on purpose. While this does tend to cause this trope, the point of the exercise is removing their ability to do anything about it.
126	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Vance_Millar Charles Vance Millar]] had a will that mostly consisted of practical jokes, such as willing his shares in a horse-racing venture to anti-gambling crusaders, willing equal shares of a lavish vacation home to two men who couldn't stand one another, and willing some militant Protestant temperance advocates his shares of a Catholic-owned brewery. Some of his "heirs" went to court to try and get out of their inheritance.
127	[[/folder]]

Context Main / InheritanceBacklash