Settling inheritance before death - Back when Inheritances were taxed, parents would finagle to give chunks of inheritance or put stuff in trust to avoid the tax man from decimating the Estate. With small ones, this tax hell happened frequently. It is an alternate form of will so to speak; common in very close families. It sideswiped a lot of paperwork. It allowed families to just simply grieve. The closer the family, the more painful the grieving process.