How To Avoid Fights Over Your Estate
You don't want your heirs to fight over your estate, do you? Here are a few practical measures to avoid such fights.
Choose an Honest Executor
The executor, the person who ensures that your wishes are honored, doesn't have to be your spouse, eldest child, favorite child, or best friend – those are not the qualifications. What if you choose your eldest child to be the executor and they end up being too lazy to manage the estate during probate? Ideally, look for an honest, hardworking, financially-savvy person who is also organized enough to see that everything is done on time and as they should.
Try To Be Fair
Even though it's your prerogative to distribute your estate as you see fit, you should try to be fair if you don't want your kids to fight over your assets. Leaving half your estate to your favorite child and the other half to be shared among a plethora or beneficiaries is likely to trigger infighting amongst the beneficiaries.
Don't Involve an Heir in Estate Planning
Your estate planning endeavors should be between you and your lawyer; don't involve any of your heirs or beneficiaries. If you involve an heir in the planning, the others may claim coercion or even trickery after your demise; this is even more likely if the people you involved in the planning seemed to have benefited more than the others. If you need help from another person other than your lawyer, get it from a third party.
Handle Sentimental Items Separately
Sentimental items can bring great discontent amongst the beneficiaries of your estate. This may be the case even if the said items don't have great financial value. For example, a family heirloom, your favorite work of art, your art collection, or the family china that has been passed down from generations should not be bundled together with other items. If you are leaving a house to one of your kids, for example, take the sentimental items and handle them differently.
Ensure the Documents Are Up To Date
Lastly, you should ensure your estate planning documents are always up to date and accurate. Don't write your will, for example, and let it lie for a decade without amendments or updates. After all, a lot can happen in your life within those years, and the changes need to be reflected in your estate documents. Maybe you have acquired more assets, gotten divorced, or changed your idea on who can be the best custodian of the family business.
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