Deciding who and what is included in your Will are decisions you want to make carefully. If you are expecting to only have a few family members left after you pass away, dividing your assets might be easy. However, if you have a large family and you want every member to receive something from you, it can take a while to figure out who gets what. Either way, you need to take time to make meaningful decisions.
It’s best to start with your personal belongings. If you have a tea set that you used to have tea with your daughter, then you should consider putting it in your will. Any meaningful objects that your family members have an attachment to needs to be named in your will. This will prevent fighting over it in the future. If you have a dilemma such as using the same tea set with your daughter and granddaughter, you might need to get creative and give them both a certain amount of pieces from the tea set. There are dozens of objects that people hold a close emotional attachment to, so think carefully as you go through your decision making.
Next, you will want to choose how to distribute your bank accounts, property, and investments. This is also a highly sensitive topic for many people. There is a story of a woman who had 9 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, she divided a sum of money up equally to have distributed to each of them, so nobody was left out and everyone received the same amount. She also left a letter with her attorney saying she loved them all equally and for this reason, they all received the same amount. This helps prevent arguing and resentment within the family after your passing.
The decision to tell your family ahead of time who got what is up to you. However, you should think about it carefully because often times telling family members ahead of time causes arguments and fighting among your heirs. It’s best to advise your heirs that you created a Will and it’s going to remain secured until the time comes. Beware of heirs who try to ask you repeatedly what they received in your Will. Some of your heirs might hint to things they might want of yours, so keep an eye open for hints which can help you decide who receives the specific object.
If you need to create or make changes to your Will, contact us today for further assistance.