[cleandreams]

A trust is better than a will. The saving grace is that my parents selected a trustee for their trust who was trustworthy. He also did things extremely slowly because he was terrified my awful half sisters would sue him. My half sisters, no surprise, have terrible judgment in many areas of life, and this was one, so the trouble they started was not likely to end with the result they wanted. They have greed though, so they went for it. If there hadn't been a good trustee I would not have had the will to resist. A couple of things I learned: get your own lawyer. That is important! The best investment of your money. Otherwise no one is interested in your opinion. Also, your parents should set up a trust rather than just a will. If your parents don't know someone who would make a good trustee, just get a bank. They have departments that specialize in this. In a way a bank is better. A bank will not be terrified that the nut job narcissist inheritor might sue them; they have deep pockets.

One more thing. The way things went down totally shocked me. I was a child of my mother's second marriage and I learned the hard way that my half sibs had always resented me. Now that I know that, things about my family make more sense. My feeling is, if you at all feel your sibs may resent you because life gave you luck / looks / smarts / a better father / you name it, proceed with caution.

[crookshanked]

Your second paragraph definitely is a nail on the head moment. It is something I try and look past often but am hyper aware of it when I'm with my parents and they call to "talk". I'll have to ask them about who their trustee is. Thanks!