That was a good article. It's helped me realize that I think I'm looking for an index-tracking ETF. Thanks.

That is helpful, thank you.

I was made trusee because I'm sort of "the responsible one" among my siblings. I'm not sure any of other my siblings could be trusted to learn how to invest it responsibly or to distribute it prudently/equitably.

I've actually already been sitting on this for a little bit, so I'm ready to learn what I need to in order to invest it.

The wiki did indeed have some helpful advice, which is how I settled on index funds, but it's left me with the above questions regarding the differences between ETFs, index funds, mutual funds, etc...

The money is sitting in a checking account. It came from the sale of a house.