• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Wilcox Attorneys, PA

Wilcox Attorneys, PA an Arkansas Estate Planning & Trust Information Center

Northwest Arkansas Estate Planning Attorneys (479) 443-0062

Client Vault
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • Our Firm
    • About the American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • News & Events
    • Speaker Connection
  • services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Incapacity Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • Secure Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Webinars
  • Practice Areas
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Resources
      • Estate Planning Articles
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Pet Planning
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Newsletters
    • Pre Consultation Form
    • Trust Administration & Probate Resources
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Contact Us
  • Blog

Basic Questions About Estate Planning – How Can I Give Fair Inheritances?

August 31, 2016 by Deb Sexton Leave a Comment

This is an article from the Law Offices of Cheryl David (https://www.cheryldavid.com/) in Greensboro, North Carolina, that we thought others may find helpful.

One of the most important issues confronting people who create estate plans is the question of how to give fair inheritances. After all, you don’t want to leave an estate plan that would cause strife or discord between your family members and loved ones, and leaving fair inheritances goes a long way in protecting family relationships. Today we are going to take a look at what you might need to think about when determining how best to leave behind fair inheritances through your estate plan.

Fair Inheritances and Money

When it comes to making choices about inheritances, distributing money is often the easiest to do in a fair manner. However, it’s important to note that fair doesn’t always equate to equal. There is no150841 requirement, for example, that you have to give equal inheritances to each of your grandchildren or your children. As long as you determine for yourself what gifts you want to leave, ensuring that your wishes are carried out is usually easy to do.

Fair Inheritances and Personal Property

The question of distributing money in a fair manner is typically simpler than the question of distributing tangible personal property in the same way. What we’re talking about is all of the personal items that you collect over a lifetime, such as family heirlooms, collectibles, furniture, clothing, dishes, and everything else you might have.

Distributing these items in a fair and impartial manner is often more difficult than it might initially appear. For example, if you have a collection of letters that your grandfather wrote to your grandmother, how do you distribute these in a fair way? Do you give all the letters to one person, divide them up between different people, or make copies and distribute those?

While there are numerous ways to approach this issue, you should probably do so from a perspective of developing a fair method, instead of making individual decisions about each piece of property. For example, you can allow each of your family members to choose one piece of personal property they want at a time, and in a specified order. This way everyone has their own say about what they might like, and gets the chance to makes decisions about it.

Another way would be to allow your executor to determine a fair method, perhaps after discussing what the best way might be to distribute such property with those who are interested in it.

If all else fails, you can have your estate to use the services of a mediator to sort out any potential conflicts, or even direct that all personal property is liquidated through an estate sale or estate auction have the funds distributed evenly.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Deb Sexton
Latest posts by Deb Sexton (see all)
  • Estate Planning is Essential Whether You Are Married or Not - April 25, 2018
  • Income Tax Basis in Estate Planning – Part 2 - April 23, 2018
  • The Downsizing Generation: How to Handle a Surplus of Stuff When a Loved One Ages - April 18, 2018

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Wilcox Attorneys, PA

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Subscribe to Our Blog

Subscribe to our blog for all the latest estate planning news and updates!

Office Address

Fayetteville
2766 Millennium Drive
Fayetteville, AR 72703
Phone: (479) 443-0062

Office Address

Prairie Grove
1100 Division Street, Suite 4
Prairie Grove, AR 72753
Phone: (479) 846-6026

( By Appointment Only )

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Map

map for office
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

footer-logo

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.