Battle of Will
In South Florida, the personal nature of preparing a will often turns into a battle of wills for too many couples and families. Creating or updating an inheritance plan requires the contemplation of money, death, and extended family. This is a topic that can cause quarrels in even the strongest of families. To avoid any conflict with your spouse or partner regarding your estate planning, here are some tips to follow when discussing this issue.
Try not to be too critical of your partner’s family members.
Many of the quarrels that arise over the making of a will arise because of a perceived attack on a relative rather than which relative will receive what after the testator dies. If you have a strong feeling that a particular relative should be left against your will or you disagree with your choice of spouse from a South Florida executive, you should be very diplomatic and describe your position without speaking negatively about that particular relative. For example, you can explain that you want to give a certain relative less than the same share of your inheritance because other descendants need more money or will make better use of it. Be sure not to tell your partner that you believe this person doesn’t deserve the money, even if they don’t. You should explain that you don’t agree with your spouse’s choice of executor or trustee because something is wrong with this person (even if there is), but because you think that someone else is better equipped to handle the task.
Propose a compromise instead of arguing for one side or the other.
There is a greater chance of an argument occurring when one partner or partner feels that the other’s voice is not being heard. One preventative solution to this problem is to listen to your partner’s position and seek some kind of middle ground, even if you don’t agree with their decision at all. For example, if you disagree about how to divide the inheritance among relatives because some relatives are less worthy than others, you can leave these less valuable offspring as family heirlooms of sentimental value, even if they are very little. financial value. Another solution is to set up a South Florida charitable trust that provides for the family’s needs as one spouse wishes, but then donates whatever is left to charity, as the other party wishes.
Another possible compromise with a remarried spouse might involve giving a small portion of the inheritance to the spouse’s children from a previous marriage rather than closing off this offspring completely. It may also be a good idea to include a statement in your will explaining that offspring who receive less are no less loved. If you and your spouse or partner are unable to agree on a South Florida executor to your will, each of you can name your ideal candidate for an executor and make him or her co-executive rather than choosing one over the other or even naming a mutual friend or South Florida bank as executor rather than debating which family member to choose.
Discuss any potential landmine issues with your spouse or partner before meeting with your estate planning attorney.
Visiting your South Florida estate planning attorney just so you and your partner can argue in front of him will increase everyone’s tension levels and waste your time and the attorney’s time. Instead of waiting to discuss the situation in the attorney’s office, you should arrange a time to sit down with your spouse or partner before the meeting and discuss who should be the executor, who should be in charge of minors, and who should receive what . from each of your plantations. Even if you can’t compromise on every issue, this pre-meeting discussion will allow you to clearly and calmly discuss disagreements with your attorney on a free consultation. At that point, he may be able to offer some acceptable solutions.
Discuss each of your goals and make one main goal.
What do you and your partner most want to achieve? If you can agree on one main goal, you’re less likely to fight over the smaller details. If you have young children, you and your spouse will most likely agree that the primary purpose of your will is to ensure that the children are cared for. Both partners will especially worry that the children are being raised properly. If your spouse complains that giving one of your family members custody of the children will anger or disappoint their family member, simply remind your spouse of the primary goal and explain why staying with your chosen guardian is in the best interests of the children. .
Remember to keep using the term “for now”.
You and your spouse should revise your inheritance plan whenever there are changes in your family or in the property tax laws. Your will can and will be changed in the future. Reminding your spouse or partner that the decisions made today are not necessarily permanent can take some of the emotion out of the discussion. For example, if your partner wants to make his sister the guardian of the children but you would prefer them to be raised by your brother because he is married and he is single, you can reassure your partner that the topic can be revisited if the sister get married.