Sadly, when a loved one passes away, it is common for family members to start fighting over the property the deceased left behind. Greed can make people do and say things they otherwise would not do or say. While we all hope our family members will be able to resolve disputes on their own, that often is not the case, especially if you leave a substantial estate with numerous assets to be distributed. In fact, leaving a Will that instructs your loved ones to divide your property in equal shares can also cause issues. How do you equally divide a family heirloom that all of the relatives want?
Because it is often impossible to divide your belongings equally, your loved ones can turn against each other quickly. If you don’t know how to divide your assets in your estate plan, one option for making sure your relatives all have the opportunity to inherit the treasures they want, you can leave instructions to conduct an online auction. For example, there are websites that allow your estate manager to take pictures of the estate assets and place them for sale on a website auction. Using this type of strategy for distributing your assets can ensure that each relative has an equal opportunity to inherit the items they want from your estate. It is an equitable process because each participant is given an equal number of points and whoever bids the most points on an item will “win” it. Your relatives will spend their allotted points on the items that mean the most to them. Once the auction is over, the estate manager can distribute the property of the individuals who won the items.
We have used this same process for many years without the internet, but the internet has made this a much more efficient process.
While the above may seem like an unusual way to distribute your estate, it can be effective for assisting families in avoiding conflict. There is a lot of flexibility in creating an estate plan. Whatever your circumstances, we can help you find a solution that helps not only protects your plan, but keeps the peace.
The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.