Everyone knows someone who hardly speaks to his brother or sister or aunt simply because of a misunderstanding over an inheritance.
Inheritance planning can be a direct mode of expression, whether of appreciation for a person or an extolling of virtues. But can these expressions be taken the wrong way depending upon who gets what? As a family-loving person, you can express yourself far more subtly by ensuring that your heirs and the entire family can come together even after your passing and that no fight is to break out with regard to the inheritances you leave.
Estate planning for the entire family is a difficult balancing act. It can take a good deal of thought, but is well worth the effort. Forbes recently offered a bit of wisdom on the topic and a goal too: “How To Make Sure Your Children Keep Speaking To Each Other After You Die.”
Inheritance is often conceived as the tool to ultimately show your favorites or to spurn your less-loved family members. Of course, this is something of a Victorian fascination (and an age-old scandal that makes for good drama) than a life-goal commonly shared by those planning their estates. Nonetheless, the thought is out there and the anxiety as well.
Inheritances can become charged whether you want them to or not. Keeping the family talking after you are gone, or as a loving unit no less, can mean a number of things within the peculiar context of each individual family. More often than not, communication is key. So, how do you intend to keep the peace? Have you planned accordingly already?
Reference: Forbes (June 4, 2014) “How To Make Sure Your Children Keep Speaking To Each Other After You Die”
