Since Pop's funeral last week, I have had a baptism by fire in the world of life insurance, stock transactions, wills and a looming Probate court.

For instance: I had never heard of a Medallion Signature Guarantee (MSG). Now, I need three of them. An MSG is like getting something Notarized, but this process is Notarized on steroids. An MSG is performed by an officer of a commercial bank who not only vouches for your signature, but guarantees the transaction is valid. Pop, as it...