There are small pieces of tangible personal property that are easy to overlook when making beneficiary designations within your estate plan. You may think that giving instructions on who gets your diamond earrings versus who gets the painting hanging in your living room is tedious and frivolous, but these items may hold great sentimental value to some of your loved ones. This may be to the point that they eventually fight over them in estate litigation proceedings. To avoid all this chaos, please continue reading to learn how to address tangible personal property within your estate plan and how an experienced Putnam County estate planning attorney at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC can help you do so properly.
How do I address tangible personal property within my estate plan?
Evidently, the most effective way to address tangible personal property is by listing it in your Last Will and Testament. With this list, you should give a detailed description of the personal item and the relationship and full legal name of the desired beneficiary. An example of how this should be written is, “I leave my brown leather Louis Vuitton tote bag to my eldest daughter, Jane Doe.” With being as specific as possible, you leave little to no room for misinterpretation.
Further, instead of addressing your tangible personal property directly in your will, you may supplement this document with a personal property memorandum. That is, having a legal document dedicated to your personal items may make the other orders of business handled in your will document less convoluted. If you do this, though, you must acknowledge the existence of this memorandum in your will document.
Lastly, you may end your will document with a residuary clause. Of note, this clause addresses how any piece of tangible personal property left unnamed in your will or memorandum should go to a certain beneficiary. For example, you may write, “I leave the rest of my unclaimed personal property to my eldest daughter, Jane Doe.”
What happens if I do not direct on personal property within my estate plan?
As you may likely conclude yourself, your failure to instruct on personal property within your estate plan may result in discord amongst your loved ones. This may ultimately lead to the New York State Surrogate’s Court having to intervene. Here, they may decide to distribute the rest of your unclaimed personal property in a way you would not have chosen. Overall, the whole experience may be unsettling for your beneficiaries.
If you think now is the time to get started on your estate plan, then please reach out to a skilled Putnam County estate planning attorney. Our team at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC is well-equipped to take on your case.