How Can You Talk to Your Beneficiaries About Their Inheritance?

The last thing that you want is for the terms of your estate to create discord amongst your family once you are gone. This then prompts the question of how can you have a frank discussions with your future heirs and beneficiaries about their inheritance. According to the Huffington Post, over $15 trillion dollars will go through a generational transition by 2026. When that amount of money is involved, it is difficult to expect that no one will have their feelings hurt. However, you can ease the transition of your assets in Woodland Hills by setting expectations now.

Talking individually with each beneficiary could lead to distrust as some of them may think that others are being promised a disproportionate amount of your estate. Thus, it may be best to gather all of them together so that every issue is put out in the open.

Even when being open and honest, however, the potential for discord still remains. Therefore, it may help you further to follow these tips when talking to your beneficiaries:

•          Be practical in your gifts: This will dispel the notion that you are showing your level of care for an individual beneficiary through his or her inheritance.
•          Don’t discount sentimental value: If one of your beneficiaries cares about a particular item because of its connection to you, consider that when making your decision of who to leave it to.
•          Ask for their input: While the final decisions regarding your estate lie with you, allowing your beneficiaries to have a say in who gets what may help to calm emotions once their inheritances are disbursed.

Some of these suggestions may prove to be the key to avoiding a bitter family dispute once you are gone.