Dear Eric: When my dad passed away, with my mother already gone, it took my brother seven years to settle his estate. He was living in dad’s house and not in any hurry. I spoke to him several times, trying to encourage him to get it done. But nothing worked. So, I finally got a lawyer’s help. It worked and now he will not talk to me. Was I wrong in thinking it took too long?

— Estate Dilemma

Dear Estate: Seven years is too long, especially if, as it sounds, your brother hadn’t even started. It would be one thing if the estate were complicated in some way and the process got caught up in legal red tape. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

People process death and the legal requirements around it in different ways. There is no standard timetable for grief, for instance, nor should

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