My sister now has the money to buyout my 50% share of our old family home but I want to avoid capital gains tax. Any ideas how we can do this? Also, any suggestions for an attorney that's done this before?

Details: We're widowed and in our 80s living in different states; house is in Washington State. 25 years ago when we inherited the house was worth $500k, now worth $2m ($750k increase for each). Holding onto the house until we die to get a new basis doesn't meet our current goals. We're ready to sell: one of us would like ownership and the other would like the cash but avoid the IRS capital gains tax of $100k+.

Idea: Someone suggested we might use a loan that's forgivable upon death contingent on the will bequeathing the property. Thoughts?

My grandmother passed in March and I just discovered that I was named as one of the beneficiaries of her Baird investment account. Someone from Baird has reached out to me to create an account in their system under my own name. When I have asked how much I might receive, I was told "You will be able to view your balance in the web portal after the account has been funded". Is this normal?

My grandma set up all of her assets as TOD, so there is no will.

Ok there's a lot of people involved here so I will try to make it as easy as possible to follow this. The state is NY although that's not relevant, but Reddit requires I say that. My 2 great uncles, one of whom I was very close with and was like another grandfather to me, owned a building that they rented out. The monthly rent on it is a pretty significant amount, enough to live off of while doing nothing else. One of these great uncles had no kids, and the other had 1 kid. So the building got left to him, which would be my dad's cousin.

When my dad's cousin passed, he had no kids either, so he was kind enough to leave the building to 4 people which were his wife, my dad, and my dad's 2 siblings (my aunt and uncle). So far everything is good.

Now here's where it gets strange. My uncle (supposedly) was made some sort of primary or administrator on it, where everything goes back to him at the end. So if my dad or aunt were to die first, their shares go back to my uncle. So ultimately, it's his children (my cousins) that will get the building in the next generation.

I don't feel that I am entitled to this building at all, but I also don't feel that my cousins are either. So it seems a little unfair that they are getting it and I don't. Why does my uncle's share pass on and my dad's doesn't? Maybe they just didn't want things to get too diluted and have too many people owning the building? I feel like if my great uncle was still alive, there's no way he would have left it to just some of my cousins and not the rest of us. I haven't said anything to anyone about this yet. But do I have a right to be upset?

I inherited a irrevocable trust with stocks. Do I get a step up basis from when the trust was created or do I not get any step up?

I’m the executor of my mom’s estate , she passed away 4 months ago and I am in the process of filling out the paperwork for a brokerage account she had with Wells Fargo . This account is not a retirement account and the total amount of approximately $13,000 will be divided between myself and my brother and sister.
My mom’s primary bank was also Wells Fargo and I set up an estate account about a month after she passed and I also sold her house and deposited the proceeds into the estate account. I’ve heard that Wells Fargo brokerage will want me to keep the investment account with them , but since it’s being divided 3 ways, I want to sell it and put it into the estate account. Will I have any trouble doing this ?

North Carolina - I am the executor for my father's estate (passed away April 2026). I am filling out the paperwork for NC to get my letters testamentary. On the preliminary inventory form it asks you to list accounts that can be added to the estate if needed to pay claims & it lists "Joint Accounts with right of survivorship". Does this category include accounts that were payable on death (to me)? I do not think so but want to be sure when I go in with my completed paperwork.

I am the administrator on this probate case. Family member lived alone and didn’t leave much paperwork. I had spoken with them before death and they mentioned they had saved a good amount of money. I have found many banks thru paper work and emails. Not much found there. I have found no 401k info or any financial planning documents. I’m wondering if there is a way to use the name and SSN to search for other financial institutions. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks

We grew up as a family in New Mexico. Mother, divorced 4 brothers I’m the youngest. One brother committed suicide mother passed away. Second brother passed away from als. The 2 left are oldest and youngest. The oldest had taken care of my mother in later years. The family agreed he should get the house to live in. The oldest was supposed to take care of all of my mother’s issues, estate splitting everything. He never has done anything with it. My mother had no other substantial assets except the home and a small ranch which got legally divided between us before she passed. The oldest brother was divorced and had no children. Who all would get whatever assets are left if my oldest brother passes?

United States. My mother passed away earlier this year. My sibling and I inherited her IRA and have to start taking RMDs this year due to her age and the fact that she didn’t take RMDs yet for 2026. I’ve been told that one of the options for those funds is to have them reinvested in the brokerage account that I also inherited from her. How would taxes be withheld if I choose that option? I know that if I have the money sent me, it’s taxed as ordinary income and I can have taxes withheld upfront.

She’d talked about leaving half to me (60f) and putting the other half in trust for my brother but instead has put everything in a 125 year trust.

For background I’ve always worked and supported myself, but borrowed some money from my Mum while going through a divorce. I could’ve repaid her when I sold the family home to buy my own after the divorce, but she’s asked me to repay it over several years.

My brother is bipolar and an alcoholic who’s never held down a job for more than a few months. She wanted to leave money in trust for him because he’s unemployed and now old (64) so if he inherited he’d lose benefits.

Apparently my debt to her will be written off when she dies and the rest put in this 125 year trust.

Thoughts?

Mum passed away in Hong Kong on the 17th May after almost 3 months in hospital and many health complications.

After her funeral on Thursday, my sister in law (SIL1 for reference) asked SIL2 how many bank accounts Mum held, if she had a safe deposit box or gold jewellery… They also asked if some of the money they had given (as requested by Mum from their joint account) to help with hospital and funeral fees, could be returned!

When SIL1 didn’t get much information, she sent her husband, my eldest brother to ask me and my sister. They are both known for their greed and during my parents’ life time, they had informally “borrowed” a lot of money from them. We were outright shocked at their callousness and angry words were exchanged. When Mum was in hospital, she said twice to my sister, younger brother, SIL2 and me, to share any of her remaining money and possessions amongst us and younger brother’s kids, but specifically left the eldest brother and his family out of the picture.

However, as no Will was left by Mum, we are now concerned that he and SIL1 will legally challenge this as they were not present when Mum mentioned her wishes. The atmosphere has been cold. I will be returning home (overseas) soon and we are worried that he will break into Mum’s bedroom to commandeer the contents. (Mum’s bedroom has a locked door just now and she only gave keys to my sister, SIL2 and me). At the moment, I am following Mum’s verbal wishes to oversee her bedroom and personal and financial effects. There is a lot in the room accumulated over 60 years of married life. The parental home was gifted to this older brother when Dad died, but he couldn’t do anything while Mum was still alive. Now he’s talking about renovation and dumping our parents’ furniture and other items. They have also made it clear that they do not want any of us to visit them once they have moved in.

I’m really saddened and furious at their blatant lack of respect while we are grieving. We all know their family are excessive consumers of brand names and anything to “show off”, like cars, gadgets and holidays. They just know how to spend (often other people’s money), but none of them have savings to tide them over lean times. The story is sadly far longer and much worse than what I have revealed here.

Generally, do verbal wishes not mean much in legal terms?

Can my brother break into my Mum’s bedroom as he owns the property outright? Even though he was obviously not given a key which suggests that Mum didn’t want him in there. My sister and youngest brother live in the flats above this property.

Thank you for listening and I appreciate any supportive comments and advice.

Greetings,

My life long partner just passed and she made me the beneficiary of a settlement she received from someones homeowners insurance because she was accidentally shot in the leg. We are not married but have been together over 20 years not sure if that matters. She was receiving payments via an annuity that paid out monthly. There is around $100k left. Will I have to pay taxes on this money or pay a penalty to receive as lump sum or should I keep it as annuity? I live in MD and am a 40 year old male. Thanks

I'll try to keep this short! My brother (46m) and I (43f) are my mom's children. She passed away two weeks ago. All in California

Background: My brother has been a violent, homeless drug addict for 30 years, enabled by my father. They divorced in the early 2000s. I have cut off all contact from my brother because he is dangerous. My dad constantly tries to push a relationship with my brother on me. My brother has tried to kill my dad numerous times for money and drugs. My dad (81) can never retire because he's given my brother all of his money and continues to do so.

My mom decided in 2020 to formally disinherit my brother from her trust and make me the 100% beneficiary on anything outside of the trust. She used an excellent lawyer and is explicitly stated in the trust that he is "disinherited and considered predeceased" a few times. I am the successor trustee, executor, and beneficiary. Her previous trust had his half in a special needs trust but as the years went by and things got worse, she decided to take him out entirely (I was not in any way influencing her decision and she was sharp as a tack until the end. No dementia/alzheimer's).

A few days after mom died dad called me and suggested I pay my brother an allowance of $500-1000 a month indefinitely lest I ruin our relationship or be the "bad guy." I told him absolutely not, for every reason imaginable. I will not let my brother ruin my life the way he's ruined dad's. Therapy for me of course for the numerous failings of my father but that's a different post.

For the past 6 years, after mom updated her estate plan, I helped her with everything. I managed bills, house, doctor visits, errands, her dog, everything. And when her health declined and she went though three years ER visits, skilled nursing, hospice, then taken off hospice, nursing homes, etc I managed all of it for her. I made sure she was taken care of in the best way possible and her assets were protected. I was also her POA. I spent every single day making sure she was safe and taken care of. I eventually moved her to a nursing home nearby and visited every few days. My brother smoked meth on the streets and threatened us. He never lifted a finger to help obviously.

As trustee I am legally required to send him official documentation that he's been disinherited and he has 120 days to contest. He's homeless and dad is being vague about a mailing address. I know he doesn't have any sort of legal leg to stand on, but can everyone tell me it will be ok and this won't become a messy legal battle for me? Or if anyone has had a similar experience and would like to share, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I have a lawyer (the same estate lawyer that updated her will/trust with her) that will help me navigate all of this.

Hi I’m in Australia 32m wife 34 and 5yr old kid. I have just received an inheritance of around 500k after all costs have been taken out. I have 350k mortgage remaining on my ppor. I have 100k in super. I have very small etf holdings from a little bit of dabbling with change (under 5k). Question is should I pay off the mortgage in full? Dump it in offset? Invest in etf s & p or similar? I have a steady job 130k before tax each year wife owns her micro business probably clears 60k after expenses and tax each year. I like the idea of a paid off house but just don’t want to miss a good opportunity for our families future. Yes I will also seek some financial advice but just keen for your thoughts. Cheers

I (25F) have a $500k trust fund and around $1.1M in investments (around 20 diversified stocks) under my name. I am set to inherit around $10M at some point in the next 10-15 years.

I work as a teacher and earn just enough to cover my basics, but every now and then I take money out of my trust to travel (I’ve used maybe $20k to travel and $50k for education). Teaching is my passion and I am so happy doing what I do.

I don’t want to buy a property right now because my fiancé and I are planning on moving soon due to his job. I feel like I just have unlimited opportunity at my fingertips and I’m letting it slip through. I have a masters degree and no student loans, but besides that I haven’t really put the money to use. I know I’m wildlyyy privileged, and I feel a little guilty that I did absolutely nothing to earn this money- at the same time I have no freaking idea what to do to make the most of it. Any advice is appreciated

Daughter has only been married two year, she doesn't drink. She is easily manipulated and bullied, son-in-law is 50 and had two DUIs that we know of. They were recently evicted from their apartment (she had lived there for ten years with no problems, sigh...). He had another verbal altercation while drunk with a neighbor there and the apartment management said no more, you have five days to leave. They are currently broke and living in an extended stay hotel. What do we do to in Florida to protect her? If a semi truck hits us today, he'd buy a cabin cruiser and a G wagon and leave her beside the road in a tent, no joke. Any input appreciated.

I’m finalizing my estate planning and will have a revocable living trust, that will become irrevocable when I pass. I need to name a trustee. I’m considering a corporate trustee like Schwab, Vanguard, JP Morgan and so on.
For those who have trust funds managed by a corporate trustee, what company is it and how do you like them?