Many estate plans use equal bequests, meaning that assets are divided up roughly evenly. This may not be possible for tangible assets or family heirlooms, but parents will do what they can to try to make things equal. Siblings may take turns picking family heirlooms that they want, for example, even though they can’t all have the same items.
From a financial perspective, equal division is often easier. A parent who has four children and $1 million in financial assets may simply state that all four children should receive roughly $250,000 from the estate. But if a parent wanted to divide things up in an unequal fashion, would they be allowed to do so?
It can lead to estate disputes
From a legal perspective, this is certainly allowed. You don’t have to divide things up evenly at all. That same hypothetical parent could leave $1 million to one child and nothing to everyone else if they wanted. In some cases, parents will leave more money to a child they feel has a greater financial need, while leaving less to children who have more financial security.
But even though doing so is legal, it is important to know that this could lead to conflicts and estate disputes. This is especially true if the beneficiaries were expecting equal division and had no idea that they would be receiving less than someone else. For this reason, those who use unequal bequests may want to focus on communication and setting accurate expectations ahead of time.
Whether drafting an estate plan or navigating a dispute, it’s important for all parties involved to understand their legal options.