A Mother’s Tragedy

Scott

My son tragically took his life earlier this year and I need help sorting out his estate. Nick was 30 and was fighting for custody of his two children, aged seven and three, as their mother is an ice addict (as is her new partner). Her mother is now fighting her own daughter for custody! My grandkids have not only lost their dad but also have been traumatised by neglect and abuse from their mother and the new partner. I am still grieving but I am having to sort out some sort of investment for the children for their future. I have nearly half a million dollars from Nick’s estate, and my ex-husband and I are the beneficiaries. How do I set up an investment, and what should I do?

Nicole

Hi Nicole,

My heart breaks for you, and your grandchildren.

So I think you need to go and see a lawyer, pronto.

There are two issues:

First, to see if you can get custody of your grandkids.

Second, to protect the half a million bucks and ensure that it benefits your son’s kids.

My Barefoot lawyer, Dr Brett Davies, tells me that the rules are complex and different in each state. But, typically, one-third of a deceased person’s legacy would go to their spouse and two-thirds to their children. So you may want to talk to your lawyer about bringing an action so that 100% of the money goes to the kids, to be held in trust by the grandparents.

As for where you’d invest the money, it depends on who gets custody (also another thing to get legal help with), and what the day-to-day costs would be to look after the kids. Once you’ve worked this out, you could invest a portion of the money long term for their future, probably via a low-cost high-growth share fund from the likes of Vanguard.

Good luck.

Scott.

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