Dear Annie: Did I make a mistake walking away from inheritance that should have been mine?

Annie Lane writes the Dear Annie advice column. Creators Publishing

Dear Annie: My parents, especially my mother, were abusive throughout my childhood physically, verbally and emotionally. I lived in fear from the time I was 5 years old. I worked hard, stayed out of trouble and built my own life without asking them for help, but my mother still treated me with cruelty and favoritism toward my younger sister.

When I finally cut off contact in my 40s, I thought I was reclaiming my peace. But after my parents passed, I found out my sister -- their “favorite” -- had replaced me as the executor of their estates and that I’d been completely disinherited. She sold the family home and never even sent me copies of their death certificates. I only learned of their passing through public records.