As a parent, you have probably done a lot of work to treat your children fairly and equally. While that might be relatively straightforward as you raise them, these decisions can be a lot more difficult when it comes to dividing up your assets, particularly if you have a family farm or a company.

The important thing to consider here is that it makes sense to divide your assets fairly even if this does not necessarily mean that every individual child will receive the assets equally. Imagine, for example, that you have land valued at $1 million and other assets estimated to be worth an additional $1 million; passing on your estate in equal parts to everyone of your child might initially sound fair.Hands cut money on plate, reduce funds concept

Dividing up land, however, is not always easy to do equally and some of your children may not event be interested in having that as an asset. You could attempt to divide the land in half, but the land still can be challenging to divide equally and the changes in real estate value overtime could impact how equal this really turns out to be. There are numerous considerations in this situation that would also apply to a business. One potential solution is to enhance your estate with liquidity.

With significant life insurance that increases the overall value of your estate, a fair distribution might be easier. Another useful planning tool, if you have a business, is a buy/sell agreement. Consulting with a knowledgeable estate planning attorney should you find yourself in this situation can help you compromise and ensure that you have treated the estate planning process fairly, even if that is not always equal.

Talk to an attorney in Pasadena if you have questions about putting together your individual estate planning.

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