Paul Sullivan (The New York Times) published an article entitled, "When Dividing Assets, the Little Things Matter" (April 15, 2016). Provided below is a brief summary to the article from The New York Times:
When Dividing Assets, the Little Things Matter
People often spend a lot of time crafting estate plans that lay out how their big assets - from cash to homes and securities - will be divided among their children, grandchildren and everyone else down the line.
But they sometimes give far less thought to the other stuff — those personal effects that may have little monetary value but so much sentimental value. Yet it is the decisions about those items that often cause problems in a family, like deciding who gets the tarnished tea service in the dining room, or who gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?
Since fairness means different things to different people, Ms. Stum suggests creating a process, whether it be drawing lots, letting people pick in birth order or devising something else. What’s important is that the process is followed.
Parents who think that they can wait or that their children will sort out everything without guidance from them are generally not being realistic, said John A. Warnick, an estate lawyer and the founder of the Purposeful Planning Institute.
"I ask parents to think just for a second what it would be like on Christmas morning if your children ran downstairs and there were all of these presents, bright and shining, big and small, but with no name tags on them," he said. ”Can you imagine the free-for-all that would ensue?
"If one child loved the cuff links or one child loved a painting, wouldn't it be helpful to know that in advance?" said Stacy Allred, a wealth strategist and the leader of the Center for Family Wealth Dynamics and Governance at Merrill Lynch.
To learn more about how to divide assets with sentimental value continue reading "When Dividing Assets, the Little Things Matter" by Paul Sullivan.