Quote from @Rick H.:
My observation (after many thousands of estate cases over 40+ years) is that once people start talking about money (“stuff”), it’s not about grief as much as it’s but about confusion and mixed emotions.
This is NOT the place to get actionable estate planning and financial advice. Now that you’ll have a few bucks added to your life, you can afford good CPA and certified financial planner. Paying off a mortgage is a change of strategy that might be regretted if your pro advisor guides you to better investing.
As to retiring . . . WHY? You want to sit around and drink beer (not Bud Light, of course!) and get fat? You’d be much better off learning how to modify your lifestyle and priorities to accommodate your preferences and do things that are meaningful. Also, you now have an opportunity to invest in yourself (education) and help others in your community. Look for people who represent models of how you could live a better life, not “how am I going to spend my inheritance?”
Rick H.
"......it’s not about grief as much as it’s but about confusion and mixed emotions."
Frankly, in the current situation, I've been telling myself, "think of the money, think of the money," because the reality is simply too heartbreaking to consider. And you're absolutely correct regarding obtaining advice about a "big picture" approach. I was just trying to ask a very specific question. It might help me to think of other questions to ask the pros with whom I'll soon be meeting.
As for the Bud Light comment: OH! the irony! But be that as it may, my work is hot, loud and is nano-managed by children and bean counters. I have zero desire to prolong my current employment. Indeed, I only took the job as my previous job of 20+ years was at a plant which no longer exists and this was available and payed the same. I would like to get back playing in a band, which my current job prevents. The shift I work and am often forced to extend prevents my seeing the grandchildren almost at all. My wife, who is my best friend, works days and I work afternoons so we seldom see each other. And my lack of seniority means that I'll never see day shift. I'm not ruling out further employment but it is imperative that I work somewhere that isn't so impactful on my day to day.
