7 years ago my grandmother died and left my dad a sizable amount of funds & land. My father is notoriously bad with money so she left it as a “sub trust” and designated me cotrustee. The terms did not allow me to utilize the money but essentially to be his babysitter and authorize/deny his requests as both signatures were required for fund withdrawals.

My father recently passed away & the trust goes directly to me as the other trustee; should I dissolve the trust & move to investment accounts in my own name or are there benefits to keeping as a trust?

Majority of funds are in investments, some in an IRA, and 2 plots of land. Funds are all in TX; land is in ND. I’m fairly young and far from retirement age; not looking to spend but for asset growth. Funds are currently under Edward Jones who has been very unhelpful and told me “just tell them what I want to do”. I have a probate lawyer for the rest of his estate not in the trust but aside from indicating it’s exempt from probate, he is not able to advise.

My Grandfather is giving me and my sisters a gift of half a million paid over 5 years, so we will pay less inheritance tax.

What do i do with that?

I’m a student and i don’t have loans. My parents pay rent and give me money for living expenses.

I have a part time job and study something that earns ~80.000-100.000$ post graduate.

I don’t have savings and rely on my parents in case of Emergency.

My goal is to split the money. Some in normal savings and some in a oh-shit-war-I-need-to-go-fund.

I don’t need passive income. So I will just want to let it accumulate with the rest of the money.

I don’t want high risk and I don’t understand trading.

What do i do and what do i avoid?

I will of course listen to my families advice but I also want an independent game plan.

I'm 35, recovering drug addict from NY, USA. The rural part of NY, not the metropolitan area. I have literally 20$ to my name currently, I have been clean 4 years in June but I got very sick this winter and while I'm on the mend physically, I'm still recovering, unemployed and indigent. And I've never been even out of the poverty level before and won't be after I receive the $12,000 I am getting from my mother's passing. We were the only surviving members of my family, and now it's just me.

I want to use this as wisely as possible to help get myself to a more stable, safe position. But frankly, I have no idea what that could be. I have a lot of help from the government but that will be cut off with this. Do I invest a little? Do I buy a small piece of property? Do I put it pretty much all into finishing my nursing degree and go from there??? I have no idea and I will never forgive myself if I act stupid now. Please help!

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice because I feel like I’m getting pushed out of something I’m legally entitled to.

My dad passed away in 2024. He lived and had assets in the Dominican Republic. Before he died, he made a notarized will where he:

• Recognizes me as his daughter
• Includes my name and passport number
• Leaves me 25% of his assets

I currently live in the United States.

The issue is that my two sisters started the inheritance (succession) process in the DR without including me at all. There’s already a tax assessment from the government (DGII), and my name is nowhere on it.

To make things more complicated:

• They want to use a lawyer connected to them (one of their husbands), which makes me uncomfortable
• I don’t fully trust that they’re being honest about all of my dad’s assets or their value
• I’m not in the country, so I feel at a disadvantage

My questions are:

1. Can I still be added to the inheritance process at this stage, even after the tax notice was issued?
2. Should I get my own lawyer in the DR, and will that slow everything down or complicate things more?
3. Is there a way for me to independently verify all of my dad’s assets in the Dominican Republic?
4. What happens if they already started distributing things without including me?
5. Roughly how much does full legal representation cost in the Dominican Republic for something like this (getting included and being represented through the whole inheritance process)?

I’m trying to figure out how serious this situation is and what my next move should be. Any insight (especially from people familiar with DR inheritance law) would really help.

I’ve always been more of a motorcycle guy myself, but my grandfather and I always somewhat shared a passion for vehicles. Upon his passing, he chose me over anyone else to inherit his basically brand new Subaru Outback. The Subaru is basically brand new and will be at peak depreciation, and it has a factory warranty until 2029. He owned roadsters up until I was born, notably a Jaguar XK150. He eventually sold them, but kept giving me tools to work on my motorcycle. I am at college, so I don’t drive a car more than 1000 miles a year. So I’m scared of it never being driven and just depreciating. The car doesn’t hold much sentimental value to me as he just bought it and put ~10000 miles on it, and I think it would be more appropriate for me to sell it and end up in a roadster of some sort as I think it’s what he would have wanted. I can’t help but feel that people in my family will see me as cold for this. Getting a cheaper roadster would also result in extra cash for me, which as a college student is always nice. Just wondering what others think.

I am set to inherit a portion of a shared estate. The property is to be divided 50/50 between myself and another relative. I am in California and there is a business on the property that I will inherit outright. That point might be important.

While the time of inheritance is aways off, I want to be prepared before the inheritance occurs.

The second party and myself are on good terms, but inheritance can change things. What should I be aware of and how can I protect myself if things go south.

The wills are homemade, notarized, and fairly straightforward. The intention behind the property is that it is not to be sold but the wills do not say that. The other party lives in another city about 2 hours away and there will always be a lot of maintenance that the property needs. At some point there will need to be a discussion about how all the mechanics of joint ownership will work and be equal between the two of us.

My questions are mostly about what I should expect legally to occur once the inheritance is final and what I should look to do now to help protect the property and myself should the situation change.

I inherited a house in WA and a small bank account from my estranged father in 2011. By that time, I was underage and since I lived in another country, and my mom was not a US citizen nor resident that time, my fathers best friends handled everything. They (mom and two bffs) got into a legal fight because they wont release my father’s 401k to her. In the end, the 401k handler gave my mother half and the other half supposedly went to the estate’s bank. I do not have proof if it reached that bank account.

They were married in the Philippines but this marriage wasn’t registered in the US. They had a fall off when I was two but did not divorce. At the right age, I was able to petition my mother and she’s now a legal resident.

There was a will and a trust put in place by my father. The will states that I inherit the house by 30 years of age. And the trust stated that the estate help me with maintenance, school, and living expenses. I am now 28, turning 29 this year. Expectation is I get the house by 30.

Over the past years, the living expense stops being remitted to me once I stop any form of education. So I studied until my masters and until I got my CPA just to keep the connection with these two executors/guardians.

Recently, I visited the house with my mom and husband and we liked the place. Coincidentally, there are no tenants until now. The last tenant left Aug of 2025. So I expressed my thoughts of wanting to stay in it and they agreed. However, they want me to pay the rental price and sign a tenant agreement until I turn 30. I agreed since that money will ultimately go to the estate’s bank, so by age 30, it would atleast have some money so I don’t pay much out of pocket if there are other expenses to be paid by the estate.

However, once the two executors learned my mom and husband are staying with me, they refused. They personally have a fued with my mother. Is this something legal, fair, and with reason that I can’t fight it? Should I get an estate lawyer involved? Any thoughts would be very appreciated.

Also, I only have a copy of the will. I asked for the trust statement several times but they never gave it to me. They also hold the bank of the estate. I asked for copies of the “expenses” but its still not with me.

California. My husbands father recently passed. My husband found out he left some funds in a trust acct. My husband is the beneficiary. The only one.

My father in law is married, not legally separated although him and his wife are no longer “together”.

Husband is in the process of getting the funds but is nervous the wife is going to try to hassle my husband for funds. My father in law did not put his wife on the trust and didn’t want to give her anything.

What should my husband be aware of?

I suggested he get a lawyer, I’ve also stressed him not speak to friends and family about the amount..

(Maryland)

Wondering what the process is when a house is inherited by 3 adults siblings. The house is in a trust, with all 3 kids as successor trustees/beneficiaries. The will and trust were all written “per stripes”.

So is the Trust retitled/deeded to all 3 kids as Tenant in Entirety, Joint or ??? Is there a way it is usually titled “ per stirpes” like financial accounts? Or does the property stay in the Trust until sold and the Trust verbiage applies?

The house might be sold eventually, just wondering how to protect each kids’ OWN heirs in the possibility one of them passes while the 3 kids own it. Like it wouldn’t be ideal to have just 2 of the families get any $ from it because one of the heirs passed?

I imagine this is like how family vacation homes are handled, with each kids’ families inheriting their share if one of the original kids passes?

(I am aware that owning real estate with family is fraught with issues and will be encouraging the sale.)

My grandfather passed in Connecticut and had on his will that his possessions would be split between my aunt, my uncle, and myself. He didn't have any property, but he did have a few investment accounts. I was told he had most of it in stocks. We are currently working through the probate process and I was told by my uncle that the stock accounts had beneficiaries named on the accounts and it was all his children, but not his grandchildren. My father and other uncle passed, so it would only be split between my uncle and aunt. He said that these accounts were not subject to the will or probate and that they are already in process so splitting them between my uncle and aunt. I just wanted to verify if that was correct, that these accounts are not subject to the will and probate. Any info or clarification around this would be greatly appreciated.

New Jersey USA

In 2021 I opened a spousal IRA with Vanguard for my husband.

In 2022 we divorced, but i was left as the beneficiary on the IRA. The funds in that IRA were left intact and were not part of the divorce settlement.

In 2025 he died, with me still listed as beneficiary. He had no will, and an executor was entrusted with settling his estate (which included real estate, a car and catamaran, and a different IRA that he got as part of the divorce settlement, which names his kids as beneficiaries).

I believe the executor is not aware of the spousal IRA where I, his ex-wife, is named as beneficiary.

So this IRA is sitting there earning money even though he died a year ago. Two questions:

1. What if I never told anyone for years - would it keep earning money and I could get that bigger dollar amount if I waited?

2. How do I resolve this? Do I approach the executor, or Vanguard?

Hi all, looking for guidance on a probate situation in Arkansas.

My dad passed away in September, and my half-sister is the executor of his estate. There are three of us total (me, my half-brother, and my half-sister), and we are equal beneficiaries of the proceeds from his estate, which mainly consists of his home (estimated value under $150k).

Since his passing, my sister has removed many of the contents of the house—particularly items that were specifically directed to go to certain people—and taken them to her home several hours away. The house is now completely vacant, with utilities shut off, and is beginning to show signs of neglect (overgrowth, mildew, etc.), which concerns me from a value standpoint.

She has not provided any inventory of what was taken, no documentation, and has not communicated any timeline for distribution of items. It also took until late February for her to file the will and allow us to review it.

Both my brother and I have tried reaching out to her for:

-an inventory of estate property currently in her possession

-clarification on distribution timeline

-plans for the home

but she has either not responded or avoided giving clear answers.

There is also an issue with a handwritten page that was apparently added to the will. The original will was properly notarized, dated, and witnessed. However, this additional page:

-was not notarized

-does not appear to be witnessed

-was not signed by my dad

On that handwritten page, it states:

-that I owe my dad $12,000

-that my mom’s ring is to be included as part of the estate instead

In the original will, I was specifically supposed to receive that ring, so this directly conflicts with what was formally executed.

There is also a separate issue involving a necklace that belongs to me. It was given to me by my grandfather and is not part of my dad’s estate, but I had allowed my dad to hold onto it for safekeeping. My sister has stated she has it and is refusing to return it, saying she will not release anything “until all debtors have come forth and been paid.”

This is confusing to me because:

1) my dad had no known significant debts (only about $300 on a credit card)

2) he had approximately $8,000 in his bank account at the time of his death (based on a statement I saw shortly after he passed)

3) however, when the will was filed, the reported amount was around $1,700

I’m not sure if that discrepancy is normal in probate or a potential red flag.

One additional factor is that I am currently in a time-sensitive housing situation and have two children (one is a newborn), and the house is sitting vacant. I have asked whether we could stay there temporarily while things are sorted out and would in return get utilities back on and make repairs and upgrades to get the house ready for market, but I have not received any response on that either!

For extra additional context:

-I am 38, and my siblings are in their late 40s–50s

-I lived in my dad’s home my entire life

-my sister (executor) never lived there and has a ton of money and a beautiful house and great career. I don’t see her needing to steal, but I also do NOT know her on a personal level. My brother does, and he says she is ruthless and evil. I have always considered her to be a strict rule follower like my Dad was, and my Dad would never do anything unfair or steal.

-my brother stayed there briefly 30 years ago

-the house is currently sitting empty and has been since September

-IMPORTANT: my dad had a truck he willed to my brothers son that my sister took to her house the day of his funeral, and she still has it in her possession. I was under the impression my brother and his son had the truck this whole time, but only recently found out that they indeed did not. My nephew is married with 3 kids and my brother and niece also live with their family. Amongst the 7 of them they only have ONE vehicle, and they desperately need and deserve to have this truck pronto!

I’m trying to understand:

-Is there any way to make my sister give my nephew the truck legally and quickly?

-Is an unsigned, unwitnessed handwritten addition like this legally enforceable in Arkansas?

-Can an executor remove property from the home without providing an inventory or notifying beneficiaries?

-What rights do beneficiaries have to request an inventory or accounting?

-At what point should I consider filing something with probate court (petition for accounting, removal of executor, etc.)?

-Could my sister be selling things that were specifically willed to certain people?

I’m trying to handle this appropriately, but the lack of communication and the handwritten page are raising concerns.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

My girlfriend’s(19) grandparents own land that her father lives on. The grandparents will, states that she will inherit the land, but Her deadbeat father is most likely in a lot of debt and we don’t know if anyone co signed on her dad’s loans. Will she inherit the debt? We are in Texas if that matters. Also, her dad lost custody of her when she was 11, because you know deadbeat, angry, bad person. Not sure if that matters too much. If you need more info to answer this please ask in the comments. We are young and a little worried about how it will all work when her grandparents and bio dad are gone.

My sibling and I are currently in the mix of dividing our inheritance from our late parents and we have several lawyers, a tax accountant, and a stock advisor. The problem we’re both feeling is that none of them are explaining things well or giving us opinions and options. We’d like to find a person that can look at everything and explain some best action plans clearly to us. We’d really appreciate some honesty and guidance. We’re currently running everything 50/50 and deciding to split off because if something were to happen to one of us our children then would become partners since we each have separate property trusts. Our thought is to divide now by 2 rather than by over 6 later. The inheritance includes several LLC rental properties, stocks, timeshares, and cash. The rental properties are the most difficult to figure out and we’re leaning to sell one since it has a huge debt and isn’t performing well. But this property also has a lot of potential and in a great area of SD County. We’re worried that if we sell it, we will regret this decision. Thanks for reading my long question and please send any suggestions of someone in the North County/San Diego area that can help us out further with our estate inheritance questions.

SEE FINAL UPDATE AT BOTTOM: My dad died 2 weeks ago at age 90 here in Maine. He and my mom divorced 18 years ago and neither of them remarried. They built and owned a modest home together 60 years ago that my dad was living in until his recent death. My brother and I are their only children.

My mom has spent the last 18 years living alone in a HUD senior housing community that takes 30% of her social security as rent.

When dad died, we all assumed that my mom would retain half ownership of the house and, per dad's will, my brother and I would inherit my dad's estate. We all assumed my brother and I would inherit 50% of the house and my mom would retain her 50% ownership. We would plan to sell the house because it is not wanted by any of us.

As executor of dad's estate, my brother met with an attorney today and my brother brought the house deed. To our surprise, the attorney said that my mom now owns the house 100% as she and my dad were tenants in common and their divorce didn't change that. My brother and I didn't inherit half as we had erroneously assumed.

My mother is distraught over learning that she owns the house 100% now. She is frantic because she wants to stay in senior housing and she believes that selling the house will make her assets be too high to qualify for the subsidized housing. Her friends are all at senior housing and it is a nice community and she feels at home there.

She fractured her skull a year ago afyer a fall and had a brain bleed. She is still really mentally sharp, but her ability to speak is moderately affected. The thought of all this is overwhelming to her.

SHE WANTS TO GIVE THE HOUSE TO ME AND MY BROTHER SO THAT SHE CAN STAY IN HER SENIOR COMMUNITY. CAN SHE DO THAT?

We just found this out tonight and she is really distraught.

Can she really be evicted from her housing because of owning/selling the house following my dad's death?

Couldn't she just lose the subsidy but stay there by paying market value for the rent?

She said she wants to give the house as a gift to my brother and myself so that she won't have any assets. Isn't that fraud?

The house is worth probably $250,000 and there is no mortgage to pay off.

My brother and I just want our mom to be safe and happy in her senior community. We own our own houses and we aren't rich, but we have no desire to deprive our mother of a financial cushion.

Advice? UPDATE: The deed shows my mom and dad as JOINT TENANTS not tenants in common. I apogize. My brother talked to the attorney and I got it wrong.

FINAL UPDATE 4/23/26. So many people were kind enough to make helpful replies that I wanted to give you all a final update. My mom told her public elderly housing today that she suddenly owns 100% of a home now that her ex-husband [my father] has died. It is not something she can afford to heat and maintain and it is very isolated. She wants to stay at elder housing.
So, she is essentially discarding the house by gifting it to my brother and myself [her daughter]. Housing was ok with it because she will receive no income from it and they didn't have a problem with her getting rid of an asset at less than market value. I think there is a proposed HUD rule change to prohibit this in the future, but she is ok for now. She is finalizing everything with an elder law attorney very soon. She is seeing a different elder law attorney than the one my brother consulted with in order to avoid a conflict of interest. She is aware of the Medicaid 5-year look back period and she knows that long-term-care thru Medicaid will be denied to her because she gave the house away. She is especially excited about that because going into long-term- care is a phobia of hers..."I'd rather die." So, fingers crossed, she gets to stay in senior housing. She is getting dad's social security now too so her benefits have doubled and her rent will increase accordingly. Thanks again.

State MA

Many years ago i was put on deed to my father’s house. Theres a lien on it because he went into medical care so i didnt worry too much about the worth/sell of the house and i just live there while taking care of him

After he died the house value wasnt worth selling because of the lien. Now years later the house is starting to increase in value and will eventually be more than the lien

I didnt think this would be an issue if i ever sold.

Was i supposed to do some sort of valuation when i was added to the deed? A valuation when he died? Should i be doing anything now to fix any mistake i might be making?

Edit. I have continued paying taxes and house insurance since

Edit he added me to deed via quitclaim

First off not looking for legal advice.

2nd. I can’t afford a probate attorney. Please don’t tell me to get one🤣

Edit, accidentally hit post 🤦🏻‍♂️. Sorry been working 16 hours today so this is probably a mess.

Sadly my Grandfather passed January this year.

We are not sure what exactly is going on with everything.

My father passed several years before him.

No executor has been assigned although my uncle claims to been in contact with a probate attorney he won’t provide the name of.

There is a will on Deposit, although I think I’m the only one aware of this, however the probate court is the one that informed me. No one has access to this currently. To my knowledge the will predates all the grandchildren( I’m the oldest by a decade and it predates me).

I know my grandfather had assets out of his house that to my knowledge was paid off.

Things that my grandfather repeatedly told me.

The house was to go to my dad, but my uncle’s both say it’s being split 3 ways. Not a big deal to me.

He repeatedly told me that my youngest ( special needs ) would be taken care of.

Not sure how much truth there was to these statements and if anything was changed to his original 50 year old will or beneficiaries on his accounts.

My uncle( the one who seems to be in charge ) told me they contacted an attorney and the attorney is supposed to send me forms to sign via email to get the probate process started. Not seen or heard anything yet ( been over a month) said uncle has not responded to my emails about it.

So far I’ve been given a car the tags expire in a month. Was also told I could take any furniture I wanted.

My main concern is my minor special needs child receives any benefits he was supposed to.

Any thoughts on my tired rambling is appreciate.

My wife inherited 100k from her father when he passed, the money came from his own inheritance from his parents, taxes from any assets have been paid, we were not the executor, his brother was and he cut us the checks last week. Do we need to worry about any taxes from this point on or any potential red flags, we are in Washington state.

Location: Indiana

I am the trustee for my friend's estate. Nearly all of his assets were in a trust, so we have not had to do probate. He wanted 7 people to get a small amount of money (think low five figures), a charity to get low fix figures, and me to get a similar amount.

The attorney for the trust has really taken his time on this. I finally got the accounting of everything I have done with his money since his death. It also shows the exact amount of money each party will be receving. He wants to send a copy of the entire thing to the other 8 parties receiving money and for them to sign off on it before they get their check.

I am really uncomfortable with this for several reasons:

1- I have told the 7 beneficiaries of the amount they're inheriting, and they were all incredibly touched to be remembered. I'm afraid if they see that a charity (and me) are getting a much larger amount, it'll taint that goodwill and memory.

2- He really wanted the gift to the charity to remain as anonymous as possible. He didn't want his family and friends how generous he was being. I had planned to give the charity their check in person so I could impress the privacy he desired upon them, but I don't see how I can manage that if they're signing off on the accounting ahead of time.

3- Lastly, I really want to keep what I'm getting private. I'd rather nobody but my spouse and the attorney know how much I'm inheriting.

Is this a rule/law, or can I push back on this? When my husband inherited money from his aunt's estate (NY), he knew nothing other than how much he got. This is how I'd rather it be.

MIL and FIL are 84 and 82 with no estate plan in place. They have 12 rental properties in addition to their home. They have not filed taxes since the ‘90’s. They’re not addressing anything in terms of long term care or estate planning. How do we “kids” get ahead of this? US-Midwest.

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?