It’s never a bad time to get your assets in order by writing a will, but when you do, there are certain things to avoid leaving your children that could cause them unnecessary stress. For guidance, here are 17 things to never leave your children in a will.
Outdated Technology
First, your children won’t want your iPhone 4S or your VHS player. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends you recycle old electronics instead; your kids will find the technology antiquated, and throwing it in a regular trash can will harm the environment. Don’t forget to save any important photographs first!
Useless Junk
Take the time to think about all the things in your home that may never be used again. Discard that bottle of perfume you got for Christmas five years ago and have never used. When grieving, your children will want time to grieve, not sift through the random clutter you left lying around!
Unorganized Paperwork
Your will can be somewhat of a minefield for the people who have to process it if you don’t leave your paperwork as organized as possible. Your financial records and other important documents should be easy to interpret to save time and, more importantly, to make sure that nothing gets overlooked.
Gifts with Strings Attached
The people receiving your will are already going through a lot. So, gifting items ‘with strings attached’ is unfair. For example, don’t give them money that they can only spend on certain things or other assets that come with responsibilities. Otherwise, you may just be causing family members to stress from beyond the grave.
Real Estate with Complications
The Napa Valley Register reports on a story in which multiple beneficiaries fought in court over a complicated real estate will. You might not have $92 million in your property, but it shows that real estate complications can cause huge issues for your friends and family, so think this through carefully.
Your Old Clothes
Donate or recycle any out-of-date or worn-out clothing or other materials in your home. These are another form of item that you probably have a lot of, and your children are probably not going to want to receive them. There’s just something strange about that!
Uneven Asset Distribution
Always try to evenly distribute your assets as much as possible between your children so that you don’t end up showing any favoritism, which could cause arguments. If there are certain things that you want to leave to certain people, then make sure to communicate this clearly and in advance.
Unwanted Heirlooms
The emotional weight of heirlooms could really be problematic to the beneficiaries of your will, so be careful when you’re selecting which ones to leave behind and which ones to discard or sell. If you do decide to put anything in the will that isn’t immediately obvious, inform someone of its history and your intentions behind leaving it.
Pets Without Plans
According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, you should set up a trust for your pet to include in your will to ensure the exchange holds up legally. You should also only do this if your beneficiary has expressed interest; otherwise, that’s a heck of a lot of unexpected responsibility for them!
Unwanted Collections
Are you an avid stamp, coin, or art collector? If so, remember that the emotional value that you place on these collections may be less strong for your children. So, assess their relevance before you leave them in the will.
Multiple Copies of Documents
Leaving important documents and sentimental files with your children is a great idea, but one copy is enough. Copies and redundant files are time-consuming to sift through, so ensure that you discard any extras. It’s also worth digitizing your documents, ensuring they’ll stand the test of time.
Excessive Holiday Decor
Who doesn’t have excessive decor for Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah, and other holidays? These items might mean a lot to you, but some of them won’t be as relevant to your children unless they’re sentimental, so donating your holiday item collections could be worthwhile.
Inaccessible Investment Portfolios
Another huge headache for will beneficiaries is investment portfolios. Your stocks and shares are probably in several different places and are locked into digital accounts, too. Make sure you take care of any account permissions and instructions in advance because your children could be locked out of them forever if you don’t.
Online Accounts Without Login Details
Speaking of accounts, make sure you document your passwords for your children! You never know when they might need to access your social media, investment portfolios, computer, or other inherited accounts. Pass them on within your will and ensure they’re correct; otherwise, you’ll risk losing these accounts forever.
Inherited Debt
As stated by the CFPB, debts left behind in a will need to be paid somehow, which can cause difficulties for your beneficiaries. This is why it’s best to settle your debt before you die, even if this means selling property. Otherwise, your debt could become a serious burden for your children.
Unnecessary Insurance Policies
Unnecessary insurance policies will be a nightmare for your children to inherit, so ensure you provide instructions for someone to cancel them upon your death. Even more importantly, make sure that any life insurance documentation has been correctly updated so that it’s as easy as possible for your children to claim it.
Unclear Instructions
Overall, it’s so important to clearly document the details and intended recipients of any valuable or sentimental items in your will. You might think that people will know everything about an item, but without correct documentation, its true worth could go amiss. The more information on these, the better for your recipients.
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