They found a match on 23andMe and wanted money

December 2, 2025

By Kim Komando

Most people take a 23andMe or AncestryDNA test for fun. Maybe you want to confirm an Irish ancestry or learn something about your health. Well, that’s what you think. 

What you don’t expect is a complete stranger showing up claiming to be your long lost brother or sister and asking for a piece of the inheritance. That’s exactly what the WSJ reported (paywall link) is happening to more families, and the stories are wild.

I’ve told you for years not to give 23andMe your DNA. These people obviously didn’t listen.

🩸 But we’re blood

Let me start with Amanda. When her father died, she and her sister received an inheritance. Soon after, she got a message from a woman who said she was their surprise half sister. She took a DNA test, matched with the sisters’ tests and wanted her share of the money. Their dad never mentioned another child. Still, the DNA spoke for him.

Then there’s Ryan. His father died years earlier, and everything was settled. Until a man from another state matched with him and claimed to be his half brother. He went to court, and the judge agreed to reopen the estate. Ryan had to split money with his new half brother.

A family in Boston thought they’d closed their father’s estate when an estranged daughter showed up after finding two half sisters through a DNA match. She met them, shared stories, looked through her dad’s old photo albums, then filed legal action demanding part of a multimillion‑dollar malpractice settlement for her dad’s misdiagnosis. 

Another family in Utah went through something similar. Their father passed away years earlier. Then a half brother surfaced through a DNA match and insisted he was entitled to a portion of the inheritance. After a long legal fight, the court agreed and granted him a share.

As DNA databases grow, more surprise relatives are popping up. Some want connection. Some want answers. Some want money.

✍️ Check your will

So how do you protect your estate from being reopened or challenged after you’re gone?

You have to ask a lawyer. I’m definitely not one. But it seems that things need to be really explicit in your will. 

Name every beneficiary by full legal name. Don’t rely on general terms like children or descendants. Add a clause stating that anyone not known to you at the time of signing is excluded. And update your documents regularly so the law reflects your wishes, not DNA tech alone.

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