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Wills can cause so much turmoil between siblings and other family members that a death of a loved one can tear whole families apart instead of bringing them closer together to support one another. Deep seated feelings of injustice and anger can come bubbling to the surface when the reading of a will is finally done. For this reason, it is advised to divide up your estate and assets now, instead of making it a will full of surprises, a situation that is so common in Hollywood drama. Here are some ways you can divide up your assets with your estate planning attorney in Greenville, SC. Make it Public A secret will will rarely make you any friends. It is a good idea to make the will public if you are trying to go for a fair division of assets. Of course, if you are very non-confrontational and would rather leave all your belongings to one person, then you might want to leave that as a private part of your will so that you don't have to deal with the drama and hurt feelings. Making your will public and fair will ensure that your children will voice their opinions about it well ahead of the time that it cannot be changed further. Your heirs will appreciate having time to let you know what items they hold most dear to them before you promise it to a different heir who doesn't care about it too much. But be careful, because you might end up talking about the division of your assets till the day you die. Hold an Auction If you want to be left out of the division of assets, but you want to make sure that they are fairly divided, hold an auction between the heirs. Everyone will be provided with a list of the assets for bidding. Each heir chooses what pieces they are most attached to and start the bidding one by one. This way, each heir makes sure that they get what they want on the list. If one heir outbids another, then they were apparently more attached to that item. The amounts of bidding will be recorded and the amount of money spent by each heir will be taken out of their inheritance. The heirs will not feel cheated because they will each get a cut of that money and they always have the opportunity to outbid the family member. If there is one member much more attached to things than money, they will have the option of buying the items with their personal money once their inheritance allotment has been spent. Don't Make Promises Beforehand One thing that can cause a rift between family members is when you make private promises before you create a will and then fail to mention those promises in the actual will. In these situations, the heirs will never know if the promise was actually made or if the heir is making it up for his or her own selfish purposes. This can be particularly difficult when you promise the same item at different times to two or more heirs. This is why it is important to have a detailed will and to make sure that it is always updated. You may promise something to one of your heirs who you have since written out of your will, but who now wants to get what you promised before. Then the heir who has always been loyal to you, and perhaps cared for you in your old age, feels jilted out of their inheritance. It's is just always a mess when you make promises like this, so just don't do it. Instead contact an estate planning attorney in Greenville, SC, to help you with the process. Need Assistance in your estate planning? Contact Crews Law Firm for any help in wills, trusts, probate, and much more. Estate Planning Attorney Greenville SC. Visit our page on http://crewslawoffices.com/store/estat-planning/ for more info!
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