The bank explained that if I leave the money in trust for her they are required to invest it poorly (in bonds, super-blue chips, conservative mutual funds, etc), in investments whose only claim to fame is that they are guaranteed not to grow.
Saul, that may be so, but you are under no obligation to place the inheritance with a bank for trust management. It’s a service they offer. They will charge a fee for placing the funds under management which will also charge a fee. Both fees will be expressed as a percentage of the funds under management. And to think I spent my life in IT trying to save money for myself and the Boeing Company.
No matter, there are alternatives. The law office where I had my estate plan drawn also offers estate management services (surprise!). They are obligated to manage the estate per my letter of instruction. In other words, your bank’s “requirement” is a matter of bank policy, not a legal requirement. By following this policy they guarantee that they will collect management fees for an extended period and can not be sued for violating their fiduciary obligation. It’s as if the entire finance and legal systems have conspired in order to make sure they can steadily and legally nibble away at your estate.
It appears the best I can do is follow Buffet’s advice as provided by Maria above (post #6381). My wife has a desire to learn more about investments, but her English is a big inhibition. I’m reasonably sure my daughter simply lacks the temperament. I don’t know about her husband, but I’m loath to simply turn a chunk of the estate over to him with the instructions “invest wisely”.
The best plan I’ve come up with so far is live long and remain mentally alert. Both my parents made it into their 90s. and they did not have an easy life (my father was a Holocaust survivor - there’s a soon to be released documentary film about my parents, some info here if you’re interested: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elly-and-Henry/27249877234).
It’s all rather depressing . . .