New Mexico. My father-in-law recently transferred his house into the revocable trust that he setup with his late wife a few years ago. My wife and I are the successor trustees and are trying to make sure everything is in order. My question is how accurate does the trust name need to be to avoid problems down the line?

Across documents, the names are as follows:

The original Trust document:

Walter Sobchack and Maude Lebowski, Trustees of the Sobchack Lebowski Family Trust dated March 6, 1998

The revised deed after the transfer:

Walter Sobchack as Trustee of the Walter Sobchack and Maude Lebowski Revocable Trust dated March 6, 1998

The revised property record as listed online:

Walter Sobchack Trustee Sobchack & Lebowski RVT

Is this going to be an issue when the time comes? I don’t mind paying to have it filed again properly, I just want it to be right. I’d ask the lawyer that filed it initially, but he’s not responding to emails this month apparently.🤷‍♂️

Thanks for any thought you have on the topic!

Mother died 2 years ago and sibling #2 was appointed trustee. Remaining siblings were never told of trust from mother, but found out from sibling #4, who was appointed medical surrogate. Trustee had not had any communication with siblings regarding status of trust, life insurance policies, or CDs. They have not been given yearly updates regarding use of trust money.

In January, $10,000 was advanced to the siblings after sibling #3 kept nudging the trustee. Finally, 8 months later, after many text messages, sibling #3 received two $20,000 deposits in the form of a personal check, not a check from a trust account. Sibling #3 was told their share was $50,000. Of the remaining 2 siblings, sibling #1 has received $20,000, also a personal check. Not sure what their rights are, or what the tax liabilities are.

Shouldn't they be entitled to an accounting of monies used and interest received over the 2 years since mother's death? Does trustee have a fiduciary responsibility to abide by certain protocols?

In California.

My mother and her husband married 20 years ago. Each have adult children from previous marriages, but none together. They created a standard marital trust setup, which generally gave his 4 kids 50%, and myself and my sister 50%. After 10 years, my mom was 'coerced' (not in a illegal way) in to switching it so each kids got 1/6th. They lived in CA this whole time.

Fast forward, after selling the house and moving to assisted living, and then after a few years, ultimately to memory care, her husband passed away. As it turns out, NONE of the assets were put in the trust, except the house. There was one account that the trust owned, and it had like $6K and that's it. but other than the house and their working expenses, the rest of their money was in retirement accounts, which never belong to a trust and can't be distributed directly to a trust. Anyway once they sold the house, the money was put in a joint account, and then that money went to my mom when he died. That was the only cash they had. He had an IRA worth about $300K, and that went directly to my mom as the beneficiary. So now, all of the accounts are soley in my moms name. Her estate attorney stated that it was fine to drain the trust account reasonably quickly, since it went to her assisted living rent, and the terms of the trust were that it could be used for maintenance before being distributed per the death stipulations.

My mom now wants to essentially give my sister and I most of the money by naming us as the beneficiaries for everything, and essentially leaving his kids 'something small' like 40K each. To be clear, my sister and I are fair minded and also financially independent (good jobs etc), not greedy.

Also, there's nothing shady going on, at no point did anything underhanded take place. And until his mental incapacitation, he handled all the money, and my mom did not. He had simply not funded the trusts for whatever reason, intentional or not intentional, but this was true from the beginning, there were no last-minute shenanigans.

I don't want to get in to a lot of the family drama, but his kids never liked my mom, didn't come visit (other side of the country in Virginia), and they were kind of jerks to her. They came to his funeral a year ago, and haven't given her so much as a phone call or email since. (not really relevant, except as partially a way to share my moms motivation that there's no love lost) My mom also wants to ensure her 'bloodline grandkids' get as much as she can give them.

So anyway, as it stands, we will get a much larger share of their estate than his kids. The trusts are empty.

I don't know if I feel guilty or not, but it certainly would seem unfair if I were on the other side of the deal. I don't feel like we have much risk for any challenges, but I'm a little concern as to if they really have some grounds to challenge anything, and also is it moral to accept the money as my mother wishes to give it. Also, I am my mothers POA which is a precaution against anything happening to her but I don't manage her day-to-day, so I am exceptionally careful about not interfering with anything related to her naming beneficiaries, etc.

I did actually encourage my mom to consider splitting the beneficiaries to the existing and previous amounts in the trust, but actually she doesn't want to, and is very firm about it. (and to some extent I can't push too hard in to what might drive her decisions because I believe there were some 'issues' in their marriage as well re: emotional abuse etc., but I tread very very lightly in talking about that.)

I suppose I'm wondering how much guilt I should be carrying about us catching the lions share of their estate.

Hi my mother passed away last year and left an estate worth approximately 1.6m, I a (beneficiary) was left 15% in a discretionary trust, which is up to the discretion of my brother and sister (trustees) who i do not have a great relationship with. They stand to inherit up to 500,000 each, they own their own homes, have good jobs etc, i am on disability allowance due to a mild intellectual disability and i do not own my own house but i would like to. Where do i stand here? I have a long term partner and we look after kids in care.. As far as i can gather they can give me as much or as little as they feel like? Is there anything i can do about this? Probate has not been released yet, i have a solicitor involved but they are very slow getting back to me? Am i very much at the good will of my brother and sister or can i challenge their input this as i dont have much confidence in them that they will be fair about this? Thanks in advance for any advice. I live in Ireland.

Hi, I live in Massachusetts. I'm the executor of my father's estate. After collecting my dad's assets and my brother and I signing the assent forms (we're splitting the money 50/50) my probate attorney sent everything to the court and told us it should take only 2-3 weeks. However, my attorney received a "citation" a week ago. Does this mean I did something wrong? Like forgot to add an asset or something? I didn't really understand what he said just that he thought it would be cut and dry. He says he's going to try and go to the court to clarify but I'm impatient lol and a bit worried I screwed something up. Can anyone explain this a bit better?

I want to preface that I do have a probate attorney but they are out of office so I was curious the general thoughts around this. Executor has not yet been determined.

I was made aware that the surviving spouse who had moved out two years ago has started to move items in and out of my father’s house. They maintained separate property during their marriage, although she previously lived there. Items removed include separate property purchased prior to the marriage such as a car. They have gone no contact so won’t answer any questions I have.

I have concerns obviously that this stuff should be handled by probate. I have concerns about what she is doing at this house. Curious does this seem like she’s allowed to do this? Can she remove property like a car? Can she potentially move in?? From what I was made aware prior to my father’s death, she had no stuff still there.

My mom recently passed away (Florida - Palm Beach County), and I don’t know whether she had a will. I remember finding a power of attorney form while going through her paperwork, but I somehow misplaced it. I thought it might help me identify an attorney she worked with.

She didn’t own property or a car, just bank accounts I’m trying to sort through. I don’t know how much money she had or whether there are other accounts.

I called the Palm Beach County probate office, and they said they don’t have anything on file right now. I’m not sure how to find out whether she had a will or who might have prepared one.

I’d prefer not to hire an attorney until I have a better idea of whether there are sufficient assets to justify the expense (which I’m leaning towards there isn’t).

Does anyone have advice on how to find a will or identify an attorney she may have used, and what steps I can take on my own first/and ideas on how to navigate?

Thank you!

Florida - Grandmother is a Florida resident. Prepared initial revocable trust in 1988. No will can be found. Lawyer who prepared original docs is deceased

Grandmother asked me to serve as POA and successor trustee in her revocable trust in 2016. We regrettably had a lawyer who didn’t specialize in estate planning complete a brief trust modification and new durable
POA. Original Trust from 1988 lists that all assets owned by trust be split evenly between my aunt and my father, her two children.

I regrettably haven’t done much estate planning with her since - she is still living and 91. She has some memory loss and can’t remember if there is a will.

I started to review and realized neither the house, car nor bank account list the trust as owner. No assets appear to be owned by the trust.

To avoid probate, should I consider moving house ownership, bank account, etc into the Trust name?

Or has the ship sailed at this point? I don’t reside in Florida.

House, car and bank account total assets approximately 200-250k value.

With zero irl guidance or knowledge of the matter at hand, I'm seeking a Trust and Estate lawyer in Atl.

Input from individuals who have benefitted directly from the work of whomever they're referring is ofc optimal, but at this stage in my research I prob ought to remain open to whatever suggestions Im able to procure from y'all.

I do, however, ask that recs are provided with even as little as a sentence that will offer some insight as to why that lawyer would be a good choice.

Names of attorneys or offices that I should NOT enlist would be valuable as well.

I've scoured earlier similar posts in the sub and beyond, but I'm encountering either old inquiries or unsatisfactory replies (for example, simply the attorneys name and nothing else, or law offices waaay otp).

I'm extremely appreciative of you for reading this far and/or whatever it is you have to share.

First, I'm relatively surprised to see how much the inheritance tax is in the state of Pennsylvania. For amounts that would go to nieces/nephews/friends, it's a solid 15%.

My question is regarding the mechanics of the payment:

1. Would the beneficiaries owe 15% up front, or is it paid out of the assets they are inheriting? For example, if someone is inheriting, $250,000, do they have to put up $37,500 first, or will the financial custodian (bank, etc.) remit the appropriate amount to PA, and the net remainder to the beneficiary?
2. Does it matter if the assets are in an IRA, or other pre-tax, account? The odd part could be paying $37,500 in taxes, then getting an IRA of $250k that you have to withdraw (taxable income) over the next 10 years. If you just assume 20% in taxes, they would see $200k over 10 years (250k * 0.8), and considering they put up $37.5k to get it, they are left with just $162,500. Yes, they came out ahead, but they had to have a spare $37.5k they were willing to part with initially.
3. How do people handle all of this complexity in the state of PA? This seems like quite a bit of hassle. Doing the whole "trust/estate dance" isn't a great alternative due to the extra leg work involved either.

There used to be a lot of stories about people moving from California to Oregon (and about people in Oregon being upset about it), but it seems to me that there's a huge disincentive for high net-worth individuals to move to Oregon. For example, someone with a $25M estate who moves to and dies in Oregon would pay about $3.5M in estate taxes (according to an online calculator). The estate tax in California is zero, so you're basically paying $3.5M to live in Oregon. Is that right? Do they just not want high net worth people to move to Oregon?

What if you had a second home in Oregon? If you lived 6 months and a day in CA (or some other state), would Oregon have any claim for taxes against your estate? I could see potentially the value of the property in Oregon, but what about cash/investments?

My mum has built a trust in KS, USA. She stated that all 3 kids were equal. However, it is written out as Kevin is successor, if he is unwilling or unable to then Julie is successor....then Jeff is successor.

This means that Kevin is the main person and the other 2 have no say in who gets what when my mom passes, correct?

She called the company that set up her trust to change it where all 3 were Co-trustees. But they told her that the way she had it now was better because someone always gets left behind with co-trustees.

Is this true? We do not trust the oldest to be fair and want to make sure we are not screwed.

Any help is appreciated.

Location: Kansas

Hi all,

I spent the last three years at a larger estate planning firm that had an entire basement dedicated to storing clients’ original documents for those who opted in.

Now that I’m on my own, I don’t have the space to offer that service. My retainer agreement includes a paragraph stating that clients will receive their original documents at the conclusion of their matter.

A few questions:

1. Is there anything wrong with this approach?
2. For those who follow the same practice, how do clients typically react?

Appreciate any insight!

I’m the court-appointed administrator of an estate in Virginia, and I’m trying to figure out what happens to the deceased’s share of a family trust.
The two people who created the trust both died in March 2026. He was a named beneficiary and survived both of them. He then died in August, before any money from the trust had been distributed to any of the beneficiaries.
I’ve only been given one page of the trust. That page says he receives one share “if he survives the Donors.” It also names other beneficiaries who would receive his share if he did not survive them.

That’s where the disagreement comes in. He did survive both of them by several months. But his family is saying his share now stays in the trust and gets divided among the remaining beneficiaries instead of being paid to his estate.

I thought there might be a difference between dying before the people who created the trust and dying afterward while waiting for the money to be distributed. I’m trying to understand whether he became entitled to his share when they died, even though he hadn’t received it yet.

I don’t have the complete trust or any amendments, so I realize there could be other wording that matters. I’ve contacted the law firm that prepared it and sent my administrator paperwork, his death certificate, and the page I have. I’m still waiting for a substantive response.

Would his share generally go to his estate in this situation, or could it go to the remaining beneficiaries because he died before any money was paid out?

The FAQ on this sub states:

if your situation is so simple a DIY is sufficient, then you probably don't need a Will so there's no need to spend money on one, and if your situation requires you to have a Will then it's probably more complicated than DIY can handle.

But what constitutes a "simple" estate? It seems like many people believe they have one when in reality they do not.

For example, here's my situation that I'm trying to determine if it's "simple" enough to get away with a DIY solution, or according to the FAQ, perhaps no solution:

• Early 30's
• Single and no plans to ever get married
• No children and will never have any
• Only immediate family is my dad, and a mom & half-sister I have not had a relationship with for most of my life
• Assets:
  • House: $800k (own around 50% equity)
  • Investments: $1.5M (mostly index funds split across a few accounts; some taxable, some retirement)
  • Cash: $100k
  • Cars: ~15k
• No debt other than house mortgage
• Location: Washington state

I'd liquidate everything and leave it to my dad while he's still alive and maybe something for a few close friends/charities.

This feels fairly "simple" to me, but is it really? If not, what is?

Looking for some outside perspective on what would be fair in this situation.

My parents own several investment properties in SC that my siblings and I have always been told is our inheritance. Currently set up that everything is to be split evenly split between us.

One of my siblings, who is not in a great spot financially, has approached my parents to buy one of the properties below market value. Of course they want to help him but also want to be fair to the other kids. They asked me what I thought would be a ‘fair’ solution since they are receiving the inheritance early.

The property in question is a duplex and nets them currently about 30k a year(no mortgage). They don’t need the money so it basically is put away.

My parents will likely live another 15 years, and I’m trying to think through what would be fair to everyone in the long run.

A few things I’m considering:

If my parents sell one duplex at a discount, should the difference between the market value and sale price be counted as an early inheritance and deducted from that sibling’s eventual share?

Should the remaining rental income over the next 15 years factor into the equation, especially since my parents don’t currently need the money?

What would you consider fair in this situation?

I’m not trying to prevent my sibling from buying the property. I am looking for solutions how to approach this in a way that’s fair to everyone and minimizes resentment down the road.

Edit to add -
-The discount is $300-400k, which I think is why they are asking and more concerned than if it was 50k.
- I have told my parents that it is their decision, it’s their money/property. But we have had family conversations around inheritance and end of life care due to health scares and other family situations. They have built their wealth through real estate and with the goal to be able to leave at-least that to us, knowing life is life and money could be needed for other things.
- they plan to talk to attorneys/tax professionals before anything is final.

California, USA.
My beloved aunt passed away rather unexpectedly last year. She was recently divorced, no kids, and died intestate. Not one TOD account. Her entire estate must now be divided among her five siblings, none of which live in the US. I volunteered to administer her probate, as I am the only family member who lives in California, where she also resided. According to probate, I only get the statutory pay, which is like 1.5% of the value of the estate. I was fine with this- I wanted to honor her memory and have my aunts and uncles remember her fondly (and not have their last memories of her associated with battling probate in a language they don’t speak).
Turns out, the family has known that my aunt intended for me to inherit her jewelry collection (worth $1million, I would know as I had it appraised) - despite her not putting anything in writing, it was something she had apparently spoken about to several family members and friends. This is utterly heartbreaking, for so many reasons. I kind of wish my mom had not told me. I know there’s nothing I, or anyone, can do about it, but that doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking and frustrating and maddening.
That’s all. Go and set up a trust if you don’t have one.

My mom and dad had an attorney draw up a simple Will before he passed away.
The Will is 30 years old . My dad passed away in 1990. The Will read that if he passed before my mom, she would receive all property and assets. If they passed together, then all property and assets would be divided equally between their 5 children.
When he passed, she probated the Will in Texas. She is currently 97 and very physical and mentally able to manage money and live independently. She has asked me to be the executor of her Will and my younger sister be 2nd executor if I am unable to serve. My two older sisters were the executors since the Will was drawn up. They are older and live hours away. My question for someone that is knowledgeable of Texas estate planning and family law …
How do I change executors ?I have a copy of my parents Will and dad is the only person that signed it… mom probated it when he died.

Question: what is the correct procedure to change executors and POA… etc.
I do not have a Will where my mother signed, but I have the county court record of her probating his Will.

Does an amended trust need to be notarized?

Hi everyone,

Let's hypothetically, or not, say I just won a massive lottery jackpot (several hundred million dollars), and I am trying to figure out the best way to handle the claim, privacy, and management.

I have a couple of core questions and would love advice from estate planning attorneys or anyone familiar with windfalls:

1. Appointing an attorney as trustee: If you literally have no family members or close friends you trust to manage a massive sum of money, is appointing an attorney or a corporate/professional trustee a good idea? What are the pros, cons, and risks of having the lawyer who set up the trust or another attorney also act as the trustee?

2. Is a trust actually required? Do you have to use a trust to claim lottery winnings, or are there other legal ways to handle/bypass it?

3. Alternatives to a trust: What about setting up an LLC or claiming it through other structures? How do those compare to a trust regarding privacy, liability protection, and taxes?

For context, assume South Carolina rules apply.

Any guidance on the immediate first steps before signing the ticket would be deeply appreciated.

Thank you

My parents recently passed away and have left a lot of things I have no knowledge of. Things like hunting gear, fishing gear, old collectibles, etc. I know it has value and I hate just tossing it out.

Does anyone know the best place I could go to in order to find someone who may have interest in the items and want to purchase it. My parents did not have a lot so it would also be helpful to have the extra money for settling the estate.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Location: upstate, New York

I'm having a trust made up that designates this institution as a corporate trustee and my children's guardian (if we die) as a second trustee.

My kids are all under 5 years old.

Will they be able to get substantial HEMS or will Edward Jones keep money from them?

My location: Minnesota, USA

My dad passed away about a week ago. My mom (his wife passed away in 2020). My dad owns 2 parcels of land with his 2 sisters as "Joint tenants in common." We figured the land would also end up coming to us once he passed, and I believe that's exactly what he figured too.

He also has a bank account - however I don't have access to it and it looks like I might need to go to a Judge and become the administrator.

Other than that, his retirement was set up already to come to my brother and I, so we didn't need to do probate for that.

A lawyer we did talk to said not to pay any of his bills or anything as well.

Can I file an affidavit of collection of personal property since I know his bank accounts had less than $75k?

It feels relatively straight forward, of course I will have to do my research but it's really just the land & getting into his bank accounts I think that needs to happen. I did not envision I would lose both of my parents before I was 40 but here I am.

My in laws basically only have a paid off home to their name and a little money. Also a life insurance policy. When they die, they want it to be split between their 3 kids.

They are currently dealing with inheriting an estate from my father in laws father themselves and it has been years waiting for it to go through probate.

What is the best way for them to set up their will or estate so that a similar waiting period can be avoided in the future?

They live in Georgia, USA. One of the kids live in South Carolina, USA and the other two live in Florida.

Thanks so much for your help.

Pros & cons and how much is reasonable lawyer set up fee? This is for NY State