I had forgotten all about this thread, and got a notification this morning about one of my posts.
My mom died of cancer in 2016 (hold a Stand Up For Cancer sign, yo!). My parents had their trust in order to a "T". Its honestly one of the best things my parents ever did. She died in November, my brother had to rehab the entire interior of their house because of the cigarette smoke, and hired the realtor. I was the executor and took care of everything else. We had the entire estate wrapped up and distributed by first week of February 2017. Was able to wire a nice chunk of money to my two sisters, who had never had a pot to piss in their entire lives.
Guys, if you have kids, and have assets, and don't have your estate in a trust, get your shit together. Or your kids will be complaining about you in a couple decades. PM me if you are unsure what to do.