r/EstatePlanning

I recently inherited money as a named beneficiary of a financial account. The trustee sent me notice asking to confirm and provide the balance in the accounts, as the will states that it should be split with other members of the family. My questions are:

• Do I need to provide this information, or will this information be given by the bank to the trustee regardless of whether or not it is provided?
• Will the money eventually need to be sent to the trustee?
• What happens if the money has already been spent?
• Can they compel me, legally, to somehow come up with the money?
• If I do provide this information, does this mean that I take a reduced amount from the rest of the estate being divided?

And to make this a two sentence horror story, there is a disinherited child. Yikes.

So I am the 'good' one. My dad had long talked about these plans, and everyone had known about it, and what was in the will. So it was quite a shock to find that the will the he had prepared had gone unwitnessed and unnotarized. The way that he'd talked about his estate plans, no one would have guessed that things would end up this way.

Just for context, a will like this, in the state of Florida, is as good as toilet paper.

Why'd he have the will drafted and reissued multiple times, all setting me up as the sole beneficiary of the inheritance if he'd not follow through by getting things formalized? It could be that he'd had a change of heart, or that he just couldn't do it--though I have extreme doubt that is the case. In any case, we'll never know now. Frankly, I think that he was either lazy and just kept putting it off until he forgot about it.

Negotiating with the once-disinherited sibling is fine, because he is reasonable, but at the end of the day this is just a big fucking nightmare. We also need to spend money in probate now, which on its own, even without litigation, is likely to cost upwards of five grand.

And then on top of these things, there is still the need to have myself declared personal representative just so I can pay the bills.

My dad's estate is pretty modest, about 250K with 90K debt, but that is a very significant chunk of change for me and this situation has and will continue to cause me many sleepless nights. I will be extremely relieved when this ordeal is over regardless of the outcome. Right now, I just want to cry most of the time.

Anyways, here is to hoping for good things. I love you dad. I just wish that you'd finished everything so that this would be easier to navigate.

California. I’ll try to make this short. My grandparents kept their money separate. My grandma died. I am POA for both of them and executor/successor trustee. After my grandma died, my grandpa found out my grandma had named my mother (her daughter) as the beneficiary of the retirement (approx $150K). My grandpa wanted (not needed, he’s wealthy) money to pay for her care. As POA, I took money out of the retirement account (meant for my mother to have) and deposited it into my grandpa and grandma’s shared account. She died the next day. The funds were not used for her care. My grandpa is still alive. When he passes, can my mother still get that money if all assets including that money were eventually put into an account in the trust? There are 3 beneficiaries, my mother being one. The other 2 beneficiaries are my grandpa’s kids. If it can be proven, can she get that money that was intended for her?

My mom has a life insurance policy and has listed me and my brother as 50/50 beneficiaries.

My brother has special needs and currently receives government support (disability benefits and free healthcare). My mom is concerned that if she passes away it could disqualify him from benefits or reduce what he receives.

What would be the best approach? The only thing I can think of is for me be 100% as beneficiary and pay for his expenses.

Thank you in advance.

I am a trustee for a trust in California I need the trust looked at so that I know what it means and I need a will .. what type of lawyer do I need ? TIA !!

My mother passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack.  I am my mother's only child. We were very close (I saw her every single week) and I am heartbroken. My mother was a simple person and didn't have much to her name at all.  We live in Florida.

She did not list me as beneficiary on the 401k (only $8,000) and life insurance. (only $6,500).  I did find her OLD 401k paperwork that she listed me as 100% beneficiary. She has worked at a restaurant for 30 years as a hostess and when she set up the 401k when she first started working there, she listed me as the beneficiary. However, when the restaurant switched 401k providers, she did not update the paperwork as me as the beneficiary. 

My mom barely had any assets:

$8,000 401k

$6,500 life insurance

I think she has around $2,000 in Chase bank

An old car that is over 20 years old and would probably go to the junk yard.

She has around 5k in debt (How do we stop the creditors from charging more money in interest and late fees to my mom's estate?)

And here is the kicker- my Dad has been living in another state with his girlfriend (My Dad and Mom separated over 32 years ago)  and him and my mom, I found out, are still legally married.  My Dad ended up calling me after he found out my mom died (I haven't talked to him in YEARS) and said he would gladly mail me all the funds from her estate as he knows he hasn't talked to my mom in over 30 years and he knows how close my mom and I were since all we had was each other. 

With how much little money we are dealing with, I am unsure how to go about this. Help!!

My mother just died in Virginia. Her sister is the executor of her will but I am the sole beneficiary on her will and her small life insurance policy.

She owns a home but I am the co owner

She owns a car as the sole owner on title (no lein)

She owes a fair Amount in loans/credit cards/etc

Is the vehicle part of the estate? Until the probate process is finalized am I able to drive and use the vehicle (I live in a neighboring state)—her sister is trying to say that I am not allowed to take the car even though I have no intention of selling it, etc.. just want to use it

Sister says car may have to be sold to settle debts.

So, am I able to take the car and use it—if it was required to be sold I’d of course bring it back but would like that not to be the case

Thanks. Sadly it’s my first time dealing with a death of a family member.

I am a trust beneficiary (TN) and I have an option to exercise a limited power of appointment in the event that I perish from this earth. I simply want my trust property to go outright to a beneficiary that I choose. Do I really need to go to an estate attorney to draft a letter for the trustee or can I do it myself? It seems simple, can I write something like this?

“I hereby exercise the limited power of appointment granted to me under Smith GST Exempt trust, dated on April 10th, pursuant to 10.4.(b) , and direct that the property subject to such power to be distributed to Dick Smith outright”

[supprimé]

This is for WV. Dad is trying to decide the best way to handle passing accounts. They are thinking that a trust for everything would be better. But there are 3 traditional IRA accounts and 5 kids 65 to 40 in ages. I'm thinking everything like the house and property in a trust is fine but the IRA accounts might be better as individual beneficiaries. But not quite understanding the tax issues. Dad is already taking RMD's from them. If the IRA's are in a trust I've been reading some things that say the RMD rules for a trust depend on the oldest individual in it. But am I understanding that the IRA's after 2020 have to be liquidated after 10 years whether trust or regular beneficiary? If Dad passes when the oldest has to start taking RMD's would the younger ones be forced to also RMD every year or would they not need to other than the first year to make up for the fact the Dad would have had to RMD.

I guess I'm looking for a little more clarification on tax issues for IRA's and RMD's with regards to the younger kids. And I think the trust would need to be "see-through" and "conduit" since everyone is older and sound mind (mostly, lol).

Doing a bit more reading, if it's trust then the manager of the trust would have to do all the distributions for the next ten years or if not a trust the individual beneficiaries and everyone would handle their own RMD and cleanout of the the IRA for 10 years.

I’m dealing with a FEGLI beneficiary dispute and trying to understand what actually makes them reverse a designation, because my situation involves both medical incapacity and what appears to be a broader pattern of financial exploitation.

In short: my father’s FEGLI beneficiary was changed on August 1, 2024 to a cousin while he was hospitalized and in extremely poor health. This wasn’t just a minor illness — he had multiple serious conditions, including a prior stroke that left him with aphasia (loss of speech, reading, and writing), end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis, chronic respiratory failure, heart issues, and overall severe physical and cognitive decline. During this same period, medical records show intermittent confusion, a cognitive assessment rating him as Level 2 impaired (poor decisions, requires supervision), dialysis-related sluggishness and word-finding difficulty the day before, and a BIMS score of 99 (unable to complete cognitive testing) covering the timeframe of the designation.

At the same time, his communication and independence were clearly compromised — his phone was replaced during hospitalization, he had limited ability to communicate privately, and he was dependent on others. The person who became the new beneficiary was heavily involved during this period and, beyond the FEGLI change, also: • Emptied his Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account • Emptied or accessed his bank accounts • Removed valuables and important documents from his home • Took control of multiple aspects of his financial life during his decline

So this isn’t just a disputed form — it looks like a pattern of financial exploitation during a period of medical vulnerability.

Despite all of this, FEGLI denied the claim and upheld the denial on escalation, saying I need “new evidence.” From my perspective, the combination of severe medical impairment, timing, and surrounding financial activity makes it very unlikely this designation was independently made.

My question: for anyone familiar with FEGLI or similar federal life insurance disputes — what actually gets them to reverse?