Addressing Heirlooms And Personal Property In Your Estate Plan

Preparing an estate plan is a process that most often affects many people beyond the person or couple creating the plan.  Friends and family – especially children – feel the impact of the decisions you make most acutely when you are not there to shepherd them through.  Addressing heirlooms and personal property in your plan can help your loved ones shoulder the weight of loss and the responsibility of executing your plan.

Thinking through your tangible personal property, or your assets that you can physically touch and hold – like furniture, books, jewelry and clothing – makes the planning process more concrete.  Starting with items that will affect your loved ones emotionally can open the gates to a complete and robust plan.  If you know a child or other loved one is dreading this topic, talk with them about favored memories and experiences and the tangible remembrances of those occasions.  You may find that your loved one associates certain objects with strong emotions tied to your relationship.  Starting with these treasured items may build a bridge to thinking through other assets, like residences and investments.

If you have the feeling that a conversation with a parent or other loved one about their plan is becoming more and more important, starting with their memories and positive feelings for their family evidenced by physical items may bring them around to consider the impact of their planning (or lack thereof) and encourage them to take a look at creating a plan to stave off family conflict.

During these conversations, encourage your loved one to reduce their wishes and expectations to writing.  This writing may be incorporated into a will or revocable trust as a memorandum giving the Executor or Trustee, respectively, the power to ensure the wishes are enforced.

Some items may not need to be specifically designated.  These items can be liquidated and added to the cash or other residual assets and distributed to family and friends as preferred.  If there is conflict over who should receive an item, then implementing a strategy such as rock paper scissors or a draft can help ease tension and create an equitable method for divvying up treasured items.  Consider making duplicates of items such as family photographs, letters, handwritten recipes, and the like.

Once these physical objects have been accounted for, talking through more impersonal assets like deposit accounts, securities, and retirement plans may be more palatable.  After outlining basic wishes and desires, consider contacting an attorney to go review those wishes and to implement them into an enforceable plan with other benefits and features, such as avoiding probate or incorporating methods for discouraging conflict.  Attorneys specialized in estate matters may also have additional ideas regarding any sticky subjects.

About the Author

S. Blaydes Moore, JD
Attorney