I had trusted the wrong people, but I will invest again now with a more money orientated approach. 

https://wikitia.com/wiki/Pace_MorbyWell, while I don't blame a man for something his dad did, I do expect a man who is making a lot of money to make right by the people he has ripped off.If he treated people who trusted him this way, it won't end well for his current scheme. 

You could work out a "family trust" or another legal structure where you manage the property, get the cash flow, but maintain the rate.

Don't trust w/o verifying!

He did not leave a will or living trust so  I’m of course trying to figure out who may have the rights to the home. 

It's a SFH for 185k, that one of my trusted contractors is putting 60k rehab into, and the ARV came back 325k.  75 day rehab, average days on market in the area is under 30 days. 

It required a bit more paperwork and trust-building with the buyers, but it eased his funding gap significantly.Another route I took was tapping into local investment groups.

It sounds like they both loved and trusted you enough to pass down some amazing assets. 

However, I cannot be trusted with cash in the bank or in the stock market.

Quote from @V.G Jason: The excuses people make to invest at the most casual level is appalling.I'm not going to sit here and compare lives, but trust me folks with 20x the amount of stuff on their plate can go out there and invest properly in RE by doing their diligence.