<prompt> Human: Hey all,Im currently in the process of grieving my father. He passed away from complications following a routine surgery back in July. It was really a shock. My two sisters and I are now handling his will, and while Im sure its not as complicated as some, its incredibly emotional. Im essentially looking for advice, but would love for this to also start a discussion for those who have dealt with the difficulties of losing a loved one and dealing with the financial duties that follow. Theres a lot I really need to just get out right now, but the questions I have are in there. Ill try to be as succinct as possible. It basically boils down to an ethical question and a financial question. First, I want to say how proud of my father I am. He was a humble, working-class guy who was never one to talk about his personal finances. He was also very frugal, and wed often tease him for saving ketchup packets and whatnot, so now that were finding out where he was squirreling away his money, we are just...in awe. He really started with nothing. His father died when he was a teenager, and he started working 2 jobs while still in high school. Later in life, when my mother divorced him, he was stripped of almost everything he had, including our college savings. What he was able to make since then is really commendable. He wasnt a multi-millionaire or anything, but even just by working modest jobs was able to take care of his three daughters and son beyond the grave. Obviously, I want to honor my father with the inheritance. I want to watch the investment or saving of every penny just like he did in an attempt to continue building a legacy he started. So most of my concerns are with where to begin and with the fears that come with an emotionally complicated financial windfall. There are two aspects of the inheritance that are really troubling to me. The first, of course, is how to use it in the smartest way Ive never been the best with money, but before I get to that, there is another complicated factor to all of this. I got a call yesterday from the place where my dad used to work. It turns out that he set up a life insurance policy where I am the only beneficiary. I basically just started crying on the phone, shocked. Basically, they are going to send me a check once I provide a copy of my fathers death certificate. This is terrifying for two reasons: 1 this money is going to be in my hands a lot quicker than anything from the estate, which is terrifying, and 2 I dont think there was anything set up for either of my sisters. Im struggling with when and how and if I should tell my sisters about this. The executor of the estate wtih whom Ive always had a contentious relationship has no part in the disbersement of life insurance benefits. Im afraid that knowing I got this special treatment which I think was mostly because Im the baby of the family might be really hard on her and possibly my other sister. Even though they know my dad had his reasons for doing this, Im sure its a hard pill to swallow when youre grieving. Im afraid, also, that I might get different treatment in the inheritance as far as my dads stuff goes family herilooms, sentimental objects, etc.. My stepmother has been giving my executor sister all the paperwork needed for her to start parsing things out, though shes been very cautious about what she gives her and when. She DID let her know that her son my dads grandson had a life insurance policy taken out for him of course you would tell the mother but she also mentioned that she thought there was another one. I wish she hadnt said this because now I think the cat will have to be let out of the bag. The problem is, Im not sure when to bring it up. I have thought about talking to my stepmother who may not know it was in my name to get perspective on things but shes travelling for two weeks. Ive thought about bringing it up to my other sister, who is my best friend and Im having trouble NOT telling her because I just think my dad is amazing for doing it. I just dont...know...what to do. I feel isolated by it and have needed to talk to outside people and Reddit, I guess to put some perspective on it. As for the rest of the estate, thats pretty straightforward. It is divided equally among myself and my sisters, and a separate trust has been made for my half-brother who is on disability and risks having that taken away. The three of us are also inheriting a piece of property which...will get complicated. Anyway, my biggest financial question is where to start with this windfall? I have mountains of student loan debt. I was never smart with the way I worked out my loans. Ive been taking the year since I graduated to try and figure out how I can live a happy life AND get out of debt ASAP. Been putting things in order to try and pay things off and put them behind me.And then my dad died. Now, obviously I would take all the debt and pain to have him back. Thats no question. But while the absense of him is going to absolutely change my life in a sad way, he is leaving me with an opportunity to just...not have to struggle for the rest of my life. I am eternally grateful. The question is, do I just wipe off this debt first thing? The amount of the life insurance policy would cover about half of it, and the rest of the inheritance will cover the rest, but also leave me with a little less than twice the amount of the entire cost of the loans. Its probably best to pay down AT LEAST the loans with the high interest rates, right? I almost feel GUILT having that money go to pay off my poor decisions, but I will also NOW be able to save the money that I would have been putting towards loans and I wont be throwing away interest dollars. The other option is to invest though I suppose I could invest in addition to paying off the debt. However, Ive never even HAD enough money to invest in anything really, so I dont really know where to start. Where do I put it? Im thinking I should probably hire a financial advisor how do I find one, what does it cost? and put the remaining money in a CD or something. I just want to make sure not a single penny is squandered. I may take a small trip with the money, but other than that, I want to make sure I use the rest wisely. Have considered buying property, starting a business, buying a winnebago and driving around the country, making my first feature film...everything. Obviously some of these things have more risk than others, and some of these things can go on my own dime after I have my finances in order. I guess this is where my post sort of fizzles out. Im not exactly sure what I should be doing. The entire direction of my life just took a sharp right turn, and yet I dont know what direction its going in. Id love advice, or even just personal stories, whatever. The pain is still pretty raw, so just talking about this stuff helps. I am sorry this became so long, and if you know of a better subreddit, please point me in the right direction. EDIT TO INCLUDE FINANCIAL INFO: The life insurance policy is 42,000. My dads IRA is worth about 900,000. 20,000 will go into a trust for my half-brother, the rest will be split three ways with myself and my sisters. We are inheriting a property worth about 180,000 with about 100,000 left to pay off Other miscellaneous assets will total about 20,000 a piece once they are parced out. Student loans: I have four loans. All interest is accrued daily. 22,418.21 at 6.55 42,605.97 at 6.55 11,330.51 at 6.3 17,260.69 at 2.375These would each be .25 higher if I hadnt enrolled in AutoPay. Hey, I did something right, right?Also, I told my sisters about the life insurance. They both seemed to understand that as someone with lots of debt and no spouse, my dad had practical reasons for taking a little extra care of me. I feel really good to have that off my chest. Now my only concern is my stepmother. I know deep down that she knows why he would do this, but I think she might be hurt if she finds there isnt one in her name. She wasnt even in the will nor was he in hers, though they did share some properties.  <response>: A few things: - Im terribly sorry about whats happened in your life. Youre going through emotional hell right now and thats normal. Its normal because losing someone so close and unexpected sucks. - Dont make significant decisions for at least 3 months with this money. I would even recommend 6 months. You are grieving and will have a very hard time making decisions in sound mind for quite some time. Recognize this, understand this, and act appropriately 