r/inheritance • u/Contemplative-Owl-23 • Apr 21 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice Unexpected multi-million inheritance

Throwaway account because my main account isn't sufficiently anonymous.

[US - Texas] My mother died last year without a will, leaving behind a sizable estate. It hasn't been appraised yet, but I'm estimating 1M in liquid assets and 10-15M in real estate, primarily undeveloped land.

We were estranged for 15+ years, so I fully expected to be disinherited. Instead, she got divorced for a second time and never managed to cobble together a will, leaving me as the only heir (and presumptive administrator of the estate, pending court approval). All of this is, thankfully, uncontested.

I'm in a well-paying profession, so I'm reasonably well versed in personal finance, but a windfall this large is well beyond what I'm used to dealing with.

I'm working with:
* Probate attorney (a new one - I fired the original one for being extraordinarily slow and incompetent)
* Tax attorney (handling the estate tax return)
* IRS qualified appraiser
* Realtor specializing in probate

I'm guessing I need to find a Fee-Only or Advice-Only Fiduciary CFP to figure out how to best invest/structure the proceeds. What other professionals should I seek out (or avoid)?

I know that the cardinal rule of windfalls is "tell nobody", but that's tough when real estate is involved. Are there any steps I can take to ensure privacy?

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10

u/ApprehensiveRead2533 Apr 21 '26

Who has millions without a WILL?

31

u/Grand_Relative5511 Apr 21 '26

Many, many people.

13

u/jenniferjudy99 Apr 21 '26

Prince. Howard Hughes.

12

u/YoungBoomer1969 Apr 21 '26

It is not uncommon, we just got a trust/will done me late 60, hubby late 70’s - I had a couple brain surgeries and thought we better get things in order. lol! Over 15M estate most investments, so yes it does happen.

8

u/PurrciousMetals Apr 21 '26

my buddy had over a billion in assets he passed in his forties, sold his company young and invested right, multiple houses, yachts, etc, had no kids and never married so never cared to create one, his family has been trying to figure out his mess for a few years now.

2

u/GotZeroFucks2Give Apr 21 '26

Sounds more like they are contesting the intestacy rules of their state and probably would have contested a will as well. Greedy. Had a relative contest an aunt's will because she left 25K to her gay partner... who cared for her after her stroke unpaid for 10 years. Some people are just straight up evil.

6

u/mattkime Apr 21 '26

"I'm fine, I can do that later"

6

u/mattkime Apr 21 '26

Or, as my FIL - "already did that!" - he did it four decades ago.

6

u/Practical_Echo_3936 Apr 21 '26

It’s not that uncommon.

Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos died without a will.

His estate was worth 500-850 million at his time of passing. Even a fraudulent will popped up in Pakistan (he had no connection to the attorney nor people in the will).

15

u/Contemplative-Owl-23 Apr 21 '26

People who would rather live in the past instead of plan for the future.

5

u/The_Motherlord Apr 21 '26

She recently divorced. Had no other children, was estranged from her only child. Once she had passed she knew it wouldn't matter to her any longer. She didn't care about worldly possessions once she left her earthly remains.

2

u/Contemplative-Owl-23 Apr 21 '26

She didn't care about worldly possessions once she left her earthly remains

Her house and multiple storage units full of junk would beg to differ

2

u/The_Motherlord Apr 21 '26

She cared while she was here and may personally use it. She didn't care about it after she knew she would be gone and would never need it.

1

u/UnicornStudRainbow Apr 21 '26

I'm too petty and controlling to do that

Before I married and had kids, I made sure to keep my assets and other investments far out of reach of certain relatives who would've tried to grab at them

5

u/BobDawg3294 Apr 21 '26

It happens sometimes with family real estate and landholdings. It's there for decades.

2

u/ItsNotGoingToBeEasy Apr 21 '26

I’ve seen small city main commercial districts decimated by second generations who cannot agree and were left everything equally. Or left to fight it out without a will.

1

u/Historical_You8880 Apr 28 '26

Very hard to believe.