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During the creation of an Anaheim estate plan, many decisions must be thought through carefully. This includes making important decisions relating to the tangible personal property held in your trust. These decisions go beyond merely deciding who should be your beneficiaries. An efficient estate plan will take into consideration many surrounding factors that affect the distribution of personal property.
In some cases, the person creating an estate plan will opt to give full discretion to their Anaheim trustee for distributing the personal property within the trust. At first glance, this may appear to be an easy solution. The following are disadvantages, however, that should be weighed carefully as an estate plan is created:
- Your trustee may not have an understanding of the sentimental value of certain items of personal property.
- Your trustee may not know which specific items of personal property are valued by each beneficiary.
- Your trustee may have difficulty dividing the personal property in an equal manner among the beneficiaries, if the overall goal of your trust is to treat all beneficiaries equally.
- It may not be ideal for the overall administration of your trust to place the trustee in a position that could result in hurt feelings among the beneficiaries. Personal property is often less about the financial value of the items than the sentimental value.
- Specifically directing who should receive what property, or, in the alternative, allowing the beneficiaries to take turns choosing, may reduce the likelihood of disputes.
Fortunately, granting full discretion over personal property to your Anaheim trustee is not your only option. To learn more about the best options for addressing personal property in your trust, contact an experienced Anaheim estate planning attorney for detailed guidance relating to your unique estate. For more information, contact the Law Office of James F. Roberts & Associates, APC, today at (714) 282-7488.