Should You Honor Mom's Last Wishes?

Knight Kiplinger answers questions about giving to charity after a parent dies and what you need to reveal about your house to prospective buyers.

My mother died recently, and the executor of her estate (one of my siblings) has been approached by three charities that say she made charitable pledges to them -- verbally, but not in writing -- shortly before she died.

My siblings and I aren't enthusiastic about these particular charities, and we'd rather give a similar amount of our late mother's resources to nonprofits we think are more constructive in our community. But we know that Mom donated to these three charities in the past, even if there is no proof of these pledges. What should we do?

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Knight Kiplinger
Editor Emeritus, Kiplinger

Knight came to Kiplinger in 1983, after 13 years in daily newspaper journalism, the last six as Washington bureau chief of the Ottaway Newspapers division of Dow Jones. A frequent speaker before business audiences, he has appeared on NPR, CNN, Fox and CNBC, among other networks. Knight contributes to the weekly Kiplinger Letter.