When someone dies, tensions often run high. Never underestimate the importance of the emotional component of splitting up assets in your will. Sibling rivalry can run high, and splitting up assets with blended families can be even more difficult. Planning early and having family conversations before parents pass will minimize the frustrations of families in Texas.
Considerations when splitting assets
The number of children and their financial needs come into play when deciding how to split up assets. For instance, some people might think that they should give more money to the child that has a greater need, and others might say that you should split it evenly. Additionally, some people will say that each child could get exactly the same. You might also consider the number of children that each adult child has, with more money being given to the adult children with more children.
People who marry later in life, especially if they have children from previous relationships, have even more complications to contend with when estate planning. Do they pool their resources together even if they didn’t go into the marriage with the same amount of assets? The age that people get married can also factor into how assets are divided because people usually gain more as they get into their forties and fifties.
Talk about estate planning early
You never know when someone might die, and having a will or trust planned early is better than waiting. Parents can talk with their children about their feelings about how assets should be distributed upon the parents’ deaths, but adult children can also broach the topic with their parents. It can be a difficult conversation, but there are some strategies that you can use to make the topic more comfortable.
Choose a suitable time and place to bring up the topic with parents and children, and make sure that everyone is involved in the process so that there aren’t any surprises when the parents pass.
