Sunlight the Disinfectant: Keeping Greed Out Of Your Estate Plan
The disease of greed, bundled with other emotional baggage can create a fierce family fight over your estate. Families that were otherwise cordial and loving can turn bitter and hateful. From this disease, it is hard to recover loving family ties. I have to believe this is the last result any parent or family would want to occur after their death.
When it comes to avoiding this unfortunate and terrible result, sharing the plan before you die is the most important step you can take. Even the best estate plan with a will or living trust can be challenged. Your estate plan should be explained and discussed among your family. Sunlight is an effective disinfectant to create a clean and undisputed estate plan.
Val Farmer, a clinical psycologist specializes in mediating family fights over family farms and estates. He wrote an article discussing ways to avoid those fights in the Prarie Star. His advice is applicable to every person contemplating an estate plan or completing an estate plan.
The article is here, and this is the most insightful and instructional portion on avoiding the family fight over the estate:
What can be done to prevent this kind of family turmoil? One answer is deciding what is fair through open estate planning. Parents, while they are lucid and clear-headed about their estate goals, can discuss their plans openly and make clear their intentions so that everyone knows what will unfold. When estates plans are secret, then opportunities for manipulation and deception occasionally happen.
How can parents approach their children about estate plans?
Gather information. Get trusted legal and financial planning advice to know what options you have. Discuss with your advisers the emotional issues in the family to help them understand the complete picture of what you want to accomplish. Your own retirement goals, needs and security should be foremost in the planning process.
Be open. The process should be open and fluid to allow the gathering and exchange of information with family members. Children are self-conscious and don’t want to appear greedy or self-serving by bringing up the subject.
