She has never had the type of money that she now has and has been very skeptical of the anyone wanting to help her invest. What are some pointers I can give her on her options on investing that money? What are the necessary steps to take in ensuring her money will be safe? She has already had a few of the largest banks take a cut out of her money or they play games with the release date, she is desperate for answers. Thanks

How much money is it, advice on investing is different depending on the amount of money and their age and their desires of results.

If it is 10,000 and they are young, and don't mind it being at some risk,

1.there are some good mutual funds that may be looked at
2. there are muncipal bonds that are normally safe with good returns.
3. with the real estate at a lowering level, owning some rental properties right now, knowing that over a 10 or 15 year period real estate will still be going up.
4. I really don't like Gold as an investment ( I lost thousands in it back in the 80's) but there is a lot of money in investment quality gold.

They should go to get advice from an investment person that does not work on any commission basis,

Have her look in the phone book for a "fee based" financial planner. They will give her an unbiased opinion.