The trust does not need to be witnessed or notarized. While it is good practice to notarize the trust in case you need to defend the validity of...

Do I need to create a revocable living trust in each state in which I own property in?

You only need one trust and your brother may put his share of the property in his out of state trust. You can place property from other states in...

Can the lawyer handling my mom's estate hold the funds until we all agree to the accounting?

Yes, this is pretty common practice among attorneys in order to ensure there is not any future litigation regarding the beneficiary distributions. ...

What is the proper course to take here

I agree with my colleagues. If the stocks and bonds were in the names of you and your father only, then your step mother should not have been...