Well since we are talking about money and family, all I can say is you guys are rookies. 
I'll try to keep this short. In my family, it starts young. My grandfather passed away in his 50s in 1970. He had his will setup to pass his business in two parts. His wife,and mother of his 4 kids, would receive the annual income for her life and the 4 kids would receive the equity appreciation over that same period. It was a great move, until the eldest stepped in and decided she would handle everything. She concocted a scheme to get the 3 siblings to relinquish their shares and transfer the whole thing back to Mom and her husband would run it. They didn't show anyone the will and came to the table with a "sob story" requiring the siblings to sign "these papers" so mom would be able to live. My mother and her siblings were in their 30s, naive and stupid, so they signed. What followed was a 40 year period of manipulation and downright theft. Mom became the silent partner in all their transactions -- she "helped" buy farms, horses, apartment buildings and such. They reaped over 1 millinon dollars while Mom pinched pennies (she was a saver). They literally "bought" her apartment out from under her using a "fraudulent" 1031 exchange. By that time the other siblings were on to them and started asking questions. It eventually ended up in court, where the siblings finally saw the original will and found out what happened. The lawyers made out like bandits -- working together to drain over $300,000 in legal fees from the estate.
I'll try to keep this short. In my family, it starts young. My grandfather passed away in his 50s in 1970. He had his will setup to pass his business in two parts. His wife,and mother of his 4 kids, would receive the annual income for her life and the 4 kids would receive the equity appreciation over that same period. It was a great move, until the eldest stepped in and decided she would handle everything. She concocted a scheme to get the 3 siblings to relinquish their shares and transfer the whole thing back to Mom and her husband would run it. They didn't show anyone the will and came to the table with a "sob story" requiring the siblings to sign "these papers" so mom would be able to live. My mother and her siblings were in their 30s, naive and stupid, so they signed. What followed was a 40 year period of manipulation and downright theft. Mom became the silent partner in all their transactions -- she "helped" buy farms, horses, apartment buildings and such. They reaped over 1 millinon dollars while Mom pinched pennies (she was a saver). They literally "bought" her apartment out from under her using a "fraudulent" 1031 exchange. By that time the other siblings were on to them and started asking questions. It eventually ended up in court, where the siblings finally saw the original will and found out what happened. The lawyers made out like bandits -- working together to drain over $300,000 in legal fees from the estate.
