First, so sorry for your family's loss.
I have no understanding whatsoever of exchange rates, foreign accounts or how the money might actually come over to you, so taking that into consideration...
If the money is not coming over in any specific investment accounts (as they are in IRAs in the U.S. - 401ks/IRAs and the like must be transferred as an inherited IRA/401k with specific rules), then I would pay off the mortgage, and invest the rest with either Vanguard or Fidelity. I would get everything out of Edward Jones as soon as possible after things have settled down and you feel comfortable about shifting your own accounts over.
If you are unable to put much of the inheritance into tax deferred inherited accounts in the US (since I have no idea how they are currently set up, I assume that you won't have that as an option), you will definitely need to keep in mind the efficiency of the funds you place in the taxable brokerage accounts. I am assuming that you have the option of contributing to a Roth or traditional IRA for the both of you, but that only takes up 11K a year (5,500 for you and your spouse), so there will be lots of overage unfortunately that may only be able to go into a taxable brokerage...
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Principles_of_tax-efficient_fund_placementAnd if you aren't both already maxing your 401ks, do this after the inheritance money comes through. You can use the cap gains or dividends (that are already going to be taxed if you're in the 25% taxable bracket) to fund your living expenses or just use some of the cash you inherit if you need it, but maxing the 401ks will drop your total income down so you might not even be in the same tax bracket while at the same time funnel more money into tax deferred accounts... so do look into this and get it set up when you are sure of the inheritance (and can still live off of your salary or the cash part).
You can call up Vanguard and discuss it with them as well - with that amount of money, I'm pretty sure they'd be open to walking you through the process if you're unsure how to go about it. But mostly I think it's going to be waiting to see how the UK accounts will be transferred to you, and then contacting Vanguard or Fidelity and asking them for help getting things into the US accounts for you.
You need to read the following to get up to speed on how investing works, what you personally want to set for your goals and then decide on an asset allocation.
http://jlcollinsnh.com/stock-series/^investing primer - great reading and you'll know how it all works after getting through it
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investment_policy_statement^why you are investing and what your plans and goals are
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Asset_allocation^how you will invest
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Lazy_portfolios^simple "lazy" portfolios which will perform quite well with little effort
If you prefer Fidelity, it is still possible to get good index funds and no fees other than rock bottom expense ratios (similar to Vanguard):
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/FidelityAnd I had no interest in real estate (sounds like a huge mess/headache as far as I'm concerned), but there are many successful real estate investors on here that might steer you in the right direction if that sounds like something you might be interested in.
Good luck!
