When you think about leaving things to people in your estate plan, you probably think of things with high financial value first. For example, who gets your house or your boat.
Yet it is important not to overlook the little things, including if they do not have much financial value, because they might be rich in sentimental worth.
You might not realize the importance of a particular thing to someone
The plastic cooking spatula you use – you probably do not need to worry about that. The wooden spoon your spouse carved that you have used pretty much every day of your married life – your children may have fond memories of licking cake mix from that spoon. When you die, there is a good chance one of them may want to keep it as a reminder.
Other examples could include your jewelry, your wedding dress or your hunting rifle. All things that could help loved ones retain a little piece of you once you are gone.
Knowing what to do with such things is not always obvious. Your kids might never have thought to mention how much they would love to have that spoon. Or maybe each of your three daughters has secretly dropped hints about a particular necklace of yours.
Options include:
Ask people if there is anything they particularly want: This can work well, but some people may feel uncomfortable asking for something because they know their siblings might also want it.
Allow people to take turns choosing: You could just gather your kids together and ask them to take turns choosing something they would like to keep.
Make your best guess: Maybe you would like to surprise people with an unexpected gift. Just bear in mind you might get it wrong and that could upset people. They might wonder at how little you know them if you think they would rather get your wedding ring instead of the hunting rifle.
Whatever you do, give it some consideration. If you just leave the things unaccounted for in your estate plan it could lead to confusion and possible disputes about who will get them.