Many parents use equal bequests when making an estate plan. A parent with three children and $300,000, for example, leaves $100,000 to each child. If a parent owns a vacation property and wants it to stay in the family, they may leave it to the next generation as a whole. All of their adult children become joint property owners and have to share responsibilities.
However, do not assume that you have to make things equal. It is fully within your rights to use unequal bequests and split up your estate in any fashion that you see fit. In fact, some researchers have found that unequal bequests have been becoming more common in recent decades than they were in the past. People are taking more control over how they divide their estate, such as leaving more significant assets to beneficiaries who have greater financial needs.
It can lead to disputes
The biggest risk with unequal bequests is that beneficiaries may find themselves at odds. It can increase the chances of a dispute. If one person is given significantly less than another, for instance, they may allege that there was undue influence or something of this nature.
Even when siblings do not have a valid legal claim, such as undue influence or improper documentation, it can still stir up sibling rivalries. If two adult children have a long-standing rivalry, it is especially likely that they could get into a dispute over the estate plan, or that the person who received less could feel slighted and insulted, leading to conflict within the family.
As such, when using unequal bequests, it is often a good idea to talk to beneficiaries in advance and explain your reasoning. Then you can start looking into the legal steps necessary to set up your plan.