The documents made clear how those obligations were handled and ensured that the full eighteen-point-seven-million-dollar principal designated for the foundation would reach it.

There was no surprise deduction hidden beneath a promise I did not understand.

The process took work.

It did not happen because a charter was signed before a relative reached the courthouse.

My own financial position was reviewed with advice separate from the foundation’s plans.

I had savings and a school-district pension.

We examined my living expenses, the house, foreseeable needs, and the fact that grief could change the way someone felt about spending or preserving money.

“Is there anything you are giving up because you think keeping it would mean you loved them less?” the adviser asked.