r/financial

I'm trying to understand where a probate lawyer's responsibilities end and where the executor's begin. I always assumed that once you hired a probate lawyer, they'd take care of most of the process. But apparently there's still a ton of stuff left to deal with. Banks, closing accounts, property, outstanding bills, taxes, tracking down paperwork, keeping beneficiaries updated the list just keeps growing. I get that the lawyer handles the legal side, court filings and all that, but I didn't realize how much of the estate administration could still fall on the executor. Which makes me wonder whether paying separately for legal help and then spending months coordinating everything else is really the best approach like if you're working full time. For those who've been executors, did your probate lawyer handle much beyond the legal work?

Posting for my mom.

She makes fantastic money, more money now than she and her former partner combined were just 6-8 years ago, but things are tighter than before. In around 2020 she bought a motorhome and currently owes $102,000. But if she could sell it, which is unlikely as the market is pretty sucky, it’s really only likely to sell for ~60,000. She’s paying $1,100 a month for the thing to sit there because taking it out is too expensive. She even considered filing for bankruptcy, but makes too much to file for chapter 7, and would have to file for chapter 13 (if I didn’t make those backwards).

Unfortunately, the same is true but to a lesser degree for her house. She bought in 2023 because her rental house wanted to bring her rent up to $2800 for a regular house. She did the math and buying was cheaper. Rent has since come down in our state a bit, and she’s paying like $2,400 a month on a house that probably isn’t worth quite what she bought it for.

She works hard and makes good money, but between the house and the motorhome, and $2,300 a paycheck going to taxes, medical insurance and medical costs, she feels like she can barely keep her head above water.

Any advice generally, but specifically on any way anyone knows to get out from under the motorhome would be well appreciated!

I currently have about $10k in savings and had roughly $71k invested in stocks in my taxable brokerage account.
I have a lot of major life changes coming up over the next 8 months, which has me rethinking how much risk I want to take with money I may need relatively soon:
● My wife and I are expecting our first child in January.
● My wife will be graduating from dental school and applying for jobs back in our hometown, which is across the Midwest.
● We’ll need to buy a house in the new area.
● We’ll need to sell our current house.
● We’ll also have the expenses and logistics of moving across the Midwest.
With all of that coming up, I recently decided to sell the stocks in my brokerage account and move the entire ~$71k into SGOV. Part of me feels like this was a somewhat irrational/emotional decision because I was stressed about everything that’s coming up, rather than making the decision purely based on expected returns.
On the other hand, I know I’ll potentially need a significant amount of this money within the next year, and I don’t want to be forced to sell stocks during a market downturn when I need the money.
What would you do in my situation? Was moving the $71k into SGOV a reasonable decision, or would you have kept some/all of it invested?
I’d appreciate any perspectives, especially from people who have gone through a similar period of buying/selling a house, having a baby, and changing jobs at the same time.
Thanks!

I was informed recently that I'd be receiving 1k a month to invest in Anything I choose. Rule is I have to invest all. No matter if it fails or succeeds I'll receive another 1k. I can put it in savings accounts as long as the interest rate is respectable. Where should I start? Leaning towards life insurance.. but need more plays. Thanks in advance