STUFF

The Red Stapler: for those who remember the Movie, “Office Space,” here we celebrate Milton’s red stapler.

July 15, 2022

STUFF

Whether we utilize a Will as our client’s primary wealth transfer device, or we utilize a Trust, at some point we have to deal with how our client is going to transfer their “stuff.” As you could probably guess, “Stuff” is a technical legal term for your tangible personal property, e.g., the stuff in your house, including furniture, paintings, china, etc.

After you are gone, it seems that the most likely “fight” among your surviving family members will be over your stuff – stuff that may mean a lot to you or stuff that may mean very little to you.

There are a hundred different methods of dividing up your stuff among loved ones. Certainly, soliciting wishes from loved ones and based upon those conversations documenting the list of who gets what within your estate plan is helpful. Post-it notes on the bottom of furniture items or backs of paintings may be a good, but not great approach (the notes can easily be removed and substituted). Another approach we have seen used is to provide family members with “Monopoly money” to shop with in acquiring items at a family auction after your passing.

In the planning process, however, we recommend our clients make a listing of significant items (as an example, one of my clients owns a baseball signed and given to him by Ted Williams) and designating the beneficiary. We include a tab for that listing in their estate planning notebook, which includes all of our clients’ original estate planning documents. Our experience is that such a listing declares our clients’ final intent, and that seems to be the best way of avoiding conflict between or among their beneficiaries. We make no guarantees, however – we once represented a client who fought his brother to the Supreme Court of Tennessee over quilts and photographs.

If you would like some guidance in how best to try to solve these problems, please give us a call. We will do our best to guide you to try to avoid the dissonance of family dysfunction involving your stuff.

But we always encourage you to remember, stuff is only stuff.

Keep cool during these tough and toasty summer months, and always remember that college football is just around the corner!

Pat