Q: I have concerns that my kids might fight over some of my personal things. Is there a way to keep the kids from fighting over who will get my things after I die?
A: We've all heard stories about kids fighting after a parent's death. I've seen it happen a couple of times in the 14 years since I was sworn into the bar. Fortunately, this is a really rare event.
Having said that, there are a couple of things you can do. First, plan accordingly. The best way to keep the kids from fighting over who gets the couch is to make a specific bequest in your will.
If your will indicates Billy gets the couch and Suzy gets the table, there shouldn't be much to fight about. If you have a trust, you can make a similar provision.
If you are like me, you have a lot of stuff. I still have boxes of things that I haven't unpacked from when we moved seven years ago. If I made a specific bequest for every item I owned, my will would be a hundred pages long.
One solution is to make specific bequests only for the important items that you own. The items don't have to be valuable, just significant. For example, I have a table in my home that my mother received when her grandmother died. When my mom died, it came to me. The table isn't valuable, just important to me because it something my mother loved. My trust has a provision that provides when I die, the table goes to one of my sons.
Another option is to include language in your will or trust referencing a personal property distribution letter. Still another suggestion is to include language in your will directing the personal property to be sold if the heirs can't agree on a distribution within a certain period of time.
In the past I have used private sales, where all of the heirs were invited to the home and allowed to purchase items that meant the most to them. It has been my experience that fights over personal property are pretty rare. However, with a little planning, you can avoid or limit the disputes entirely.
Good luck.
Opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. Christopher W. Yugo is a member of the Indiana Bar and a vice president and senior trust officer for First National Bank's Trust Department. Address questions to Yugo in care of The Times, 601 W. 45th Ave., Munster, IN 46321.
