As you get older, forming an estate plan in California is essential if you have more than one child and several assets. Failing to do so may result in hard feelings and disputes between siblings in the future when you’ve passed away. Forming a solid plan now eliminates the need to make decisions after you have died regarding the division of your property, business, stocks, cash and other valuables.
Getting plans in writing is critical
Dividing assets between siblings can be challenging to complete when you have property or a thriving business. When dealing with this type of situation, it may be best to give the property to one child and the business to another. Making up any difference in value can be done with cash. Another alternative is to stipulate that the business and property must be sold. This plan would allow cash to be distributed evenly or let one of the siblings buy the other ones out. Ultimately, an estate plan needs to be formed to ensure that your wishes are written down in a legal document.
Creating an equitable division of assets
When forming an estate plan, it’s usually best to split everything evenly. Failing to do so may cause problems between siblings in the future. When you have passed away and one child receives more than another, bad feelings can surface quickly. One way to solve this problem from occurring is to give your children assets before you are gone. It doesn’t have to be exactly even when gifting to one or more children. Paying for education or a family trip is one way to balance out the division of assets. However, having an equal distribution is probably best after you’ve passed and there’s no way to talk about it.
Inevitably, starting earlier rather than later on your estate plan can help eliminate bad feelings between siblings and the decisions you make with your assets.