Even when siblings seem to get along, underlying family conflicts can rise to the surface when a parent passes away. Grief, stress, heightened emotions, and unresolved issues from the past can be exacerbated by the process of administering a parent’s estate. Importantly, a comprehensive estate plan can clearly communicate your wishes about how your assets should be distributed — and prevent disputes among your children stemming from sibling rivalry.
Here are several estate planning tips to keep in mind to help avoid sibling rivalry:
Make Your Wishes Known
One of the most important things you can do to help your children avoid sibling rivalry after you pass away is clearly communicate your wishes. Even if you have a written estate plan in place, sit down with your loved ones and talk about your estate planning goals. Explain the reasons for your decisions and give your children an opportunity to express their concerns. Making your wishes known and explaining your rationale can help prevent misunderstandings that could later arise over your intentions.
Gift to Your Children Before You Pass Away
Another way to help avoid sibling rivalry when it comes to administering your estate is by giving your assets away during your lifetime. This can give you the peace of mind you need to know that your wishes will be followed. Gifting property to your children before you die has several benefits, including:
- Personal satisfaction — Whether you are gifting money or a sentimental item, you can see your loved one enjoying the gift while you are still living.
- Reducing your estate — By transferring assets during your lifetime, you can reduce the size of your estate and potentially reduce the estate tax burden your children will face.
- Preventing conflict — With lifetime gifting, you can help to prevent any bickering over specific items after your passing.
- Flexibility — By gifting to your children while you are still living, you can provide financial support to your children when they need it the most, and adapt your estate plan to changing circumstances.
Be Fair to Everyone Involved
A thorough estate plan that prioritizes fairness can significantly reduce sibling rivalry. While distributing your assets equally is a good starting point to ensure fairness, you should also consider each of your children’s individual circumstances. If one child has a greater financial need than the other, you might want to adjust how the shares are divided. Notably, a trust can be a crucial planning tool to address a child’s specific needs — particularly in situations where you wish to provide for a disabled child without affecting their eligibility to receive government benefits.
Review Your Estate Plan at Regular Intervals
An estate plan should be reviewed on a regular basis and updated when necessary. If there are changes in your financial situation or family dynamics, make sure that your will and other estate planning documents address them. Keeping your estate planning documents up to date can help to minimize any ambiguities. It can also minimize the potential for disputes if any of your children believe your estate plan didn’t reflect your wishes when you passed.
Appoint an Objective Executor
Choosing an executor who will administer your estate is a critical component of estate planning. If you suspect sibling rivalry may be an issue if you choose one of your children to act as your personal representative over the others, consider selecting a neutral third party. A professional executor can help ensure fairness and impartiality. In addition, they will have the expertise to anticipate any potential issues that could arise.
Contact an Experienced Estate Planning Attorney
The best way to prevent sibling rivalry or disputes among your children after your passing is by creating a comprehensive estate plan. At Middleton Law Offices, we offer every client the personalized time and attention they deserve. and work closely with them to create customized estate plans that give them peace of mind.
Located in Bowling Green, Middleton Law Offices has been serving clients in Ohio regarding their estate planning matters for more than a century. Contact Middleton Law Offices today at 419-352-7522 for a consultation to learn how we can help.
Articles appearing in this column are intended to provide broad, general information about the law. This article is not intended to be legal advice. Before applying this information to a specific legal problem, readers are urged to seek advice from a licensed attorney.
