re: #401 oaktree

My parents went the irrevocable joint trust route and a lot of the details went very smoothly when nature took its course. Most of the issues and pain came from the final settling of my mother’s estate where two major things went wrong:
1. The lawyer my brother hired to do probate work essentially did nothing for two years.
2. We found some accounts, including an IRA, that had to be split up (and taxed) at a later time. They were not included in the documentation my mother left and were discovered after my brother took over and handled things using power of attorney.

After my mom passed away in August, Dad and I had to figure out all the finances and I had to teach him how to pay bills, etc. He got a trust set up with a lawyer and we’ve just finally managed to get all of the bank accounts, vehicles, etc. put in the name of the trust. It’s a big relief that I know where everything is and what to do when the time comes.