well, advice is free...so take it with a grain of salt, but my wife and i were in a similar spot with my mom’s estate.
1. carefully and prayerfully read and understand your parent’s instrument (will or trust). your job as the fiduciary is to faithfully execute that instrument to the letter of your parent’s wishes. you will need to know that instrument (or your lawyer does) backwards and forwards to engage in any meetings.
2. you have time. more time than you think. so take the time to get all the information. don’t do anything hasty. the instrument itself may give you discretion and time to build up the estate for the beneficiaries. many lifetimes of value are in that estate. don’t sell it short.
3. get advice. like you’re doing here. For us “Estate and Trust Adminstration for Dummies” is, believe it or not, a great introductory resource, written by an estate lawyer and an EA (tax expert). but then act ultimately on man’s advice but go with your own good judgment, gut and of course the Holy Spirit.
4. real property is always more valuable than consideration in my humble opinion. this is generational property. consider doing what we are doing: we are setting up a family trust to hold the property we have for future generations. that takes family agreement, however, which takes God’s intervention. i tend to disagree with the comments that just say sell it and get it over with. at least take the time to know what you are selling.
5. don’t let it degenerate into a conflict between beneficiaries. keep on the level of your mom’s wishes.
we’ll that’s a start. May God Bless and Guide you as He has us.
Thank you very much. I may reschedule/redefine the purpose of the forthcoming meeting. It would be just a month after my mom died and I am beginning to think we are rushing some things.