My brother died 10+ years before my dad did. After he passed I got a text from his bastard son that it was in my best interest to talk to him. The will stated that anyone claiming a share of the estate would get a dollar, I haven't heard from him since. My dad was ruthless.

Unfortunate and pathetic the way a lot of siblings and relatives act when a family member or relative pass's away. Just a sample of the BS that went on with our family.

When our grandma was on her death bed in her own house, the oldest sister decided to start taking a lot of things out of her house, then another sister joined in.
I had to plead with the younger sister just to get a picture of my grandmother and me, about 20 years later she finally gave it to me.




When our mother was in a hospice facility before she passed, the same two sisters were at it again at moms house.
The youngest brother who lived with and off mommy all of his life, was given 6 months to get his chit together and find another place to live, it took over two years to get his azz out of there..

I found two things in the house after mom passed that I treasured, a Dutch oven roaster that made many a meals for all 11 of us and her bible.

Incredibly lucky finding her Bible in a small book case, her bible contained a lot of her poems, letters and notations in the bible of family events.




Lot of different kinds of beans, soups and my favorite birthday meal beef tips over egg noodles or rice whatever we had at the time were cooked in this Wagner Ware Magnalite Roaster.





When dad passed our older brother decided to take everything out of his two safe deposit boxes and not share, no one but him has a clue what was in there?
Our dad retired as a Major in the Army and had another 20 year pension from AAFES and lived a modest life style so I am guessing there was a lot of value in those two safe deposit boxes.

Some of reasons I am working on detaching from family so maybe soften the impact if any of that happens in my future. I look in mirror and depend on that person for my future.

Dad died many years before Mom. Have a younger brother and sister. Sister and I have both been successful. Brother drifted from one job to another. When Dad died he moved back in(again) and never left. Essentially lived out of Moms checkbook.

When Mom died, we let brother have the house, and split the money. Mom would have wanted that. Then, he died from cancer and the house went to his kids. Had an estate sale and sent the money to his kids. They were upset that it wasn’t for more and that I should have done better. I got a realtor and sold the house. I communicated the offer to them and they considered it unacceptable. I told them that they should take over. They didn’t like that idea and accepted the offer.

Wife and I have wills. I’m 11 years older and will go first. When she dies, I get everything. If I die, everything but a rent house goes to her. It was my grandparents house that I bought from my mom when they passed. I wanted to keep it in the family. Grandson and his wife are living in it now and paying rent that is less than the taxes. They don’t know that. They were in a one bedroom Arlington apartment and paying $2,100 per month in Grapevine. They are paying me $900 per month. They don’t know it but that doesn’t cover the taxes. I know that money problems account for a lot of young people divorcing. They love the place and I feel fortunate for being able to do it.

Dad named me (youngest of 3) as his executer, so I asked him about several things that I knew could be divisive and asked him to clarify his wishes in a codicil. He asked me what I thought he should do and I told him whatever he wanted. I didn't care, just wanted it clearly stated that the way it was being handled was his wishes and direction. He did. I was asked why things were being done in the manner they were and simply replied that it was being done according to Dad's will. Brother and sister were provided a copy of the will so they could read it themselves. No problems.

When FIL passed, wife's brother and sister suggested the proceeds from the sale of his home be used to establish a trust for my special needs grandson rather than be divided 3 ways.

Wife and I have only 1 son, so I don't foresee any squabbles there, he gets it all whether he wants it or not as the will states.

You just never know when dealing with people and money or value.

In all my years of buying oil and gas leases, I’ve seen some doozies. I’ve seen siblings sue each other, refuse to sign because they don’t want their brother or sister getting a dime, back of the napkin “wills”, etc.

I will say that it’s incredible how many people leave mineral estates to their kids in different proportions or even cut kids out. Also, 80% of the heirship docs I deal with are different in the courthouse than what the heirs think mom or dad (or both) intended. I have to tell them that all that matters is what’s filed in the courthouse. It’s a giant PITA. I’ve become proficient at filing probates, affidavits of heirship and family counseling.

^^ I bet it's not boring! We almost lost our company in a fight over a final will. 1 full year of lawyers.

After reading some of these I just can’t believe they had any kind of a half way decent relationship before any of the passing.

I’ll say it again. There are no real surprises when parents die. You know who the greedy ones are already. What to do about it is what I don’t know. I already know which of our daughters will be the greedy one when we are gone.

Agree.

Finances/wealth/money are magnifiers of one's character. If a person is a dirt bag before they are financially enhanced, they just become a wealthier dirtbag. Alternatively it seems like good people become 'gooder' as their means increase.

Get over yourselves. People can and wil be ridiculous. I have seen stupid, monstrous issues which should have never taken place but, they will and do. Somes will bend over backwards to screw themselves and whomever else is "in the way".

My sister is a bit of a weirdo, doesn't come around much, but I like it that way. I don't know how things will go when my parents pass, but as far as I am aware of, everything has been put in place so that it's seamless. She may not be happy with how things go, but she did it to herself.

I don't need money, I just don't want all of my father's things to be given away to the first person that comes by offering. He has things that he has worked his whole life to keep, it would be a shame if my sibling just came down and tried to get rid of them. I'd rather buy them and she can use the cash to keep herself warm in the winter for all I care.

And then there's the "friends" that aren't directly involved in anything, but circle around like vultures after a death, offering to "help." I know of one square-head that wound up getting a 1/4 section of land in south Gillespie County (and a house full of antiques) for way below market that way.

I don’t understand how you could have a decent relationship with your siblings and have this happen. It doesn’t make any sense.

I know someone that loves to do that. Any rando kicks the bucket and he's automatically asking when the wake is, etc. so he can try to ease his way into a deal or freebie.

When I go, they're roasting me and tossing my [censored] into the brush. Don't hold any services and don't donate any of my stuff, none of my friends would take anything from my son.