Here’s How to Maintain Peace Among Your Heirs

For parents, deciding how to divvy up their assets can be an incredibly onerous task. This is especially true for those with substantial wealth and multiple children or beneficiaries to consider. A common mistake parents make when undertaking estate planning is focusing too much on legal issues while ignoring family dynamics. It is important for parents to have meaningful conversations with their kids to ensure relative peace is maintained between siblings after they are gone. These discussions may help children understand the reasoning behind certain decisions and can help reduce the chance of future struggles.

When an estate plan necessitates the establishment of a trust, parents often choose a close friend or one of their children to act as trustee for each child’s trust. This choice may end up being problematic, as trustees work under stringent financial and legal responsibilities that many are not equipped to handle. Sharon Klein, president of the New York Region of Wilmington Trust, remarked, “You have to understand what you’re asking someone to do. Even the appearance of impropriety can cause problems. The people who are left out feel antagonistic.” In many cases, the use of a corporate trustee can mitigate or avoid serious altercations between siblings.

See Paul Sullivan, Here’s How to Maintain Peace Among Your Heirs, The New York Times, March 22, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.