Should Estate Plans Be Equal Or Fair?

When you’re creating your estate plan and thinking of where you want your assets to go, you also may be thinking about how to be fair to your loved ones — but is that the same as treating everyone equally?

In estate planning, “equal” doesn’t always mean “fair.” If you have grown children with different financial needs, you might think it’s unfair to leave them the same amounts. Or if you have a family business, and one of your children is ready to assume control, you might want to leave the business to that child and compensate the other siblings in different ways.

Or, if you wanted to leave a cabin or vacation home jointly to two adult children, would this arrangement work out if one child was unwilling or unable to pay taxes and maintenance?

Communication is key to helping avoid these problems. Letting your family know your wishes for your estate plan can help avoid hard feelings and unpleasant surprises.

Also, you might benefit from objective help from your legal, tax and financial professionals.

It takes time to develop an estate plan that benefits your family as fairly as possible — but it can be worth the effort.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones, Member SIPC