An Oregon resident stumbled on an obituary with their own name and photo, then the submission form revealed how long it had been online

An Oregon resident says they stumbled across their own obituary online, only to later discover it had reportedly been created by a family member years earlier, as reported by The Nerd Stash. They shared the situation on Reddit under the username @Leather_Card3109 in the r/legaladvice community, seeking advice on possible legal action.

According to the post, the information ended up on a website meant for suicide remembrances rather than a standard obituary site, and the listing reportedly included the poster’s photo alongside their name. Once contacted, the people running the site reportedly agreed to take the page down, saying they were unaware the entry was fabricated and were troubled to learn it had been sitting there posing as a real death.

Based on the original submission form, the obituary had apparently been live for years before it was discovered. What struck many commenters was the poster’s belief that a relative was responsible, someone they described as “consistently cruel and hurtful” throughout their life. One commenter wrote, “It’s worth a conversation with the police.”

But what was the motive behind it

When others asked what motive the family member might have had, the poster suggested it could amount to defamation or libel, though one commenter pushed back, asking, “In what way have you suffered damages?” The poster responded, “Emotional. This is extremely hurtful.” Family betrayals surfacing publicly have drawn attention online before, including a woman who says she learned what her father did just one year after her mother’s death.

Some commenters speculated about payment as a motive, with one saying, “I can imagine someone doing that to cut someone out of a payout,” referring to the possibility of a paid submission tied to inheritance. The poster clarified that the site was free to use, ruling out any financial transaction. They also said the family member in question had no known involvement in any estate or will matters, leaving the motive unclear beyond what they described as personal jealousy.

“My family member was jealous of something,” the poster wrote. “Their history of cruel behavior isn’t new but this is just plain crazy.” Defamation claims like the one being considered here generally require proving four things under U.S. law: a false statement of fact was made about the person, that statement was published to a third party, the person responsible acted negligently or intentionally, and the statement caused some form of harm.

According to LegalClarity, private individuals generally only need to show negligence rather than actual malice to succeed in a defamation claim, unlike public figures who face a higher bar. Whether emotional distress alone, without financial or reputational damage, would satisfy a court’s threshold for harm can vary significantly depending on the state and the specific facts of the case.

The person behind the account said they have no plans to confront the relative directly for now, explaining they expect the person to simply lie and deny any involvement if asked. The identity of the family member has not been confirmed, and the claims reflect only their account, which has not been independently verified.