Reduce Future Conflict With These Estate Planning Tips | Siedentopf Law

Описание: Estate Planning and Probate Attorney Sarah Siedentopf talks about reducing future conflict in your estate.

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Siedentopf Law focuses on helping people in the Atlanta, Georgia area plan their estates and wills, probate estates of family members, and work through probate disputes. We strive to make estate planning and probate as easy as possible, providing a concierge experience through traditional office visits, video conferencing, and visits to hospitals and assisted living centers for those who cannot drive themselves.

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Video Transcript:
In this video, we are going to talk about reducing future conflict in your estate. Hi, I'm attorney Sarah Siedentopf. I practice estate law and probate here in Atlanta, Georgia. So what things can we do to reduce conflict with your estate? And I feel like it goes without saying but I am going to say have a legal will or trust. We are almost guaranteed conflict, if there are no legal documents, and again, really like 99% sure of conflict if you leave a semi-legal, non-legal letter that kind of looks like a will but doesn't qualify, we're getting conflict. Somebody is gonna want to go under the terms of your quasi will and somebody is going to point out that it's not legal. And we are getting conflict. So make sure that you have a legal estate plan. The next thing is to talk to your beneficiaries. Let them know ahead of time what to expect. It makes things easier when they have heard it from you and have their expectations straight. If you have two children and you're not planning on a 50/50 distribution, there may be a reason not to tell them. So I'm not saying that a hundred percent of the time you should be discussing things with your beneficiaries. But if you are thinking about something other than what they expect, talk to them. Explain your rationale. Another thing, make a thoughtful distribution. Thoughtful is not necessarily the same as even, although often it is even. But there are times when it makes sense to leave more to one person for a specific reason. In this case, it is especially important to go back to the previous step and talk to people. Let them know ahead of time why you are doing this. It's not because you don't love them equally, but there is a reason. Maybe you made a loan that hasn't been repaid and so one child is getting more than the other. There could be many, many reasons for a thoughtful distribution that isn't equal, but talking to them ahead of time is super important for reducing conflict. And then of course there is the in terrorem clause. This is something that you add to your will or your trust and it basically says, if anyone tries to contest this document, they don't get whatever they were supposed to inherit. And so it is designed to prevent people from contesting documents just because they're mad. Because even if you win, you still lose because you don't inherit. So this is not guaranteed, but it's an easy step for put it in the document. And there will be a way to point out, hey, you don't get anything if you cause a problem. And then if you really have a an estate where you are expecting conflict, the last thing is you can put a professional in charge. So sometimes, and oftentimes it makes sense to have your child or your relative or your friend as executor of your estate, as trustee of your estate. They already know you well. They're going to follow your wishes. They're willing to do this thing potentially not even charge for it. But if you are expecting conflict, having a professional in charge can really cut down on that. They have been to a rodeo before and know about how to properly manage things. They are not able to be accused of favoritism because it's not like you're favoring yourself because you're inheriting, because they are not inheriting. And if there is some kind of conflict, they are best able to nip it in the bud, get it solved because they have the resources to do that. So these are my suggestions for reducing conflict in your estate. And if you want to talk about your estate and make plans for the best ways to reduce conflict in your specific situation, I would love to hear from you. And thank you for watching. Please like and subscribe.