The holidays are usually the time when families gather and when generations share traditions that have been passed down through the years. Part of those traditions includes treasured heirlooms – a well-worn set of silver at the holiday table, grandmother’s china, or grandfather’s Gramophone.
When we sit down for the holiday meal, we rarely think about our family being engaged in a bitter fight over the sterling butter knives, but unfortunately it happens – more than you might think.
To make sure that your family’s last memories are good ones, your estate plan needs to include the list of who gets what. Those items can hold special meaning to family members, and a family feud that could be brewing could be avoided by thoughtful planning in advance.
As part of your comprehensive estate plan, you may want to consider giving away some of those things to your heirs now. If not, then you need to be sure you specify exactly who you want to get what by:
- Listing in detail each item and the name of the intended recipient
- Sharing this list with your personal representative
- Including the list as part of your last will and testament or other estate planning documents
Fortunately Minnesota has made it easy to make a list part of your last will or trust, and change your mind sometime down the road. If you have specific provisions for it in your will or trust, you can make a list at any time, and update it with a new list whenever you like.
If you’d like to learn more about estate planning strategies for your family, call our office at (612) 206-3701 or fill out our contact form today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.
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