An Australian heiress has revealed that she is unable to inherit her late father's $12 million fortune until she gets a job.
Clare Brown, 28, lives in Western Sydney's Mount Druitt and is challenging her father's will in court after her family members blocked her from accessing the funds because she did not meet the condition of getting a job.
Brown claims that the family members holding her to her late father's wishes have pushed her onto welfare payments, saying: "Give me what is rightfully mine. I am suffering," on 9 Now's A Current Affair on Tuesday (June 21).
"I have called myself a broke millionaire because I am broke constantly and can't do anything about it," Brown added.
Watch A Current Affair's coverage below:Clare's cousin, Jimmy, said that the heiress can "access all the money [she] likes" if she meets two clauses: "One clause was to get a job. The second clause was to contribute something to society."
However, Brown is arguing that factors are preventing her from meeting those conditions, such as her health complications.
"I understand why these people want me to be a functioning member of society, however, you have to look at my diagnosis and realize that is not going to happen," Brown explained. "I am not going to learn how to drive because I have ADHD. I have the attention span of a gnat."
Brown also accuses National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding cuts of making the clause more difficult to achieve, and has asked her family to "please stop with the whole point of [her] getting a job".
The heiress' wife, Lauren, has also claimed that her spouse is unable to take on a job because she "doesn't have an executive function in [her] head".
"Our cats would not get fed, they would starve - because she would not remember that they need to eat," Brown's wife added.
Brown is currently living off welfare payments with Lauren and their one-year-old daughter. She alleges that her father, Chris - who passed away earlier this year in January - "financially abused" her by constantly "cutting her off" when he was alive.
Brown also revealed that she has worked before despite her health difficulties, however, it took less than an hour for her job as a barista to go downhill.
She also added that judging by her work experience with employers, they aren't keen about "giv[ing] people a chance" anymore because of the cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This indicates that while she still has a career, less funding would be available.
Brown is now contending that she is "suffering" as an outcome of not being given her father's will and has called the inheritance "rightfully [hers]" despite having not fulfilled the two clauses.
However, her cousin claims that her conditions are an excuse, saying: "We'd like her to get a job and contribute to society. Instead of her agreeing to her dead dad's wishes, she turned around and sued her trust."
"We are at our wit's end. We have done nothing but love Clare," Jimmy added.
