Top 5 Ways to Distribute Your Personal Property

For most people, the ability to dictate how their estate assets are distributed following their death is a primary motivating factor in the creation of an estate plan. Estate assets can include anything from real property to bank accounts to personal property. While deciding who will inherit real property and financial accounts may be a difficult decision, the process of deciding how to distribute personal property comes with its own challenges. Unlike money and real estate, personal property may not be able to be divided equally. At the same time, personal property often holds deep sentimental or emotional value to the person giving and the person receiving the gift. With that in mind, the Indianapolis attorneys at Frank & Kraft explain the top five ways to distribute your personal property in your estate plan.

The Dilemma: How to Distribute Personal Property

Deciding who will inherit your home is a big decision; however, it is usually a fairly easy decision to make. Typically, valuable, big-ticket assets are gifted to a spouse, to an adult child, or the asset is sold, and the profits split among several beneficiaries. Deciding what to do with personal possessions, such as collectibles, jewelry, furniture, dishes, books, silverware, artwork, clothing, and photographs can be more of a challenge. These items may not have much monetary value and, even if they do, you may not want them to leave the family. That often creates a conundrum if there are several children and/or grandchildren. How do you decide who receives which assets? What if more than one potential beneficiary has a personal attachment to an item?  Consider using any of the following top five ways to distribute personal property:

1. Post-It Note Picks: Give each person a stack of colored post-it notes and have them place one on each item they want. While you may end up with multiple stickers on some items, it can significantly decrease the items that require a decision on your part.
2. Create Box/Bag Lots: For some items, creating box or bag lots and then allowing beneficiaries to pick a box/bag works. This works particularly well for clothing, costume jewelry, books, and other similar items. Assign each beneficiary a number to establish the “picking” order and change the number order with each box lot.
3. Make Copies/Duplicates: Photographs, cards, and other personal mementos have historically caused the most friction among siblings when it came time to distribute a parent’s assets. Today, however, most photos, videos, and other mementos can be copied or duplicated. Most of the time, this satisfies everyone.
4. Use a Professional Service: Sometimes, involving a professional is necessary. This may involve calling an appraiser to provide you with accurate values if antiques or collectibles are involved or it could mean using a service such as FairSplit to help divide assets.
5. Consider Mediation: When nothing else works, it may be time to consider mediation. Mediation allows a neutral third party to listen to all sides of a dispute and help come up with a solution that makes all sides happy.

Of course, if you are creating your estate plan, you can ultimately distribute your personal assets any way you wish; however, if you want to avoid family disputes after you are gone it is best to try and create a clear distribution plan that aligns with everyone’s wishes when possible.

Do You Need Help Deciding How to Distribute Your Personal Property?

For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you need assistance deciding how to distribute your personal property in your estate plan, contact an experienced Indianapolis estate planning attorney at Frank & Kraft by calling (317) 684-1100 to schedule an appointment.

Paul Kraft is Co-Founder and the senior Principal of Frank & Kraft, one of the leading law firms in Indiana in the area of estate planning as well as business and tax planning.

Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.

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