How to Avoid Drama When Passing On Family Heirlooms

WSJ Your Money Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

News, Business News

3.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 August 2023

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Families often make mistakes when planning the transfer of heirlooms, resulting in unnecessary costs and family infighting. WSJ personal-finance reporter Ashlea Ebeling joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss actions families should consider to make the process smoother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	At WSJ Wine, our international experts taste over 40,000 wines each year, less than 2% make the cut.
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0:30.0	Here's your money briefing for Wednesday, August 2nd. I'm JR Whalen for the Wall Street Journal.
0:38.0	Diving up heirlooms can be an awkward and frustrating process, but having a plan can avert a lot of family drama.
0:46.0	Unspecific language and a will or trust can cause riffs. Also not knowing the value of stuff.
0:52.0	It's often parents might have things and the kids know nothing about it or couldn't care less about it, but it turns out
0:58.0	they're these really valuable things.
1:02.0	We'll talk to Wall Street Journal, a personal finance reporter, Ashley Ebbling, after the break.
1:12.0	EcoLab can help reduce your company's water usage, lowering your energy consumption.
1:18.0	EcoLab water for climate, transforming the way the world thinks about water. Learn more at ecolab.com slash EWC.
1:28.0	When it's time to distribute family heirlooms, planning the right way can help avoid awkward and painful battles.
1:40.0	Wall Street Journal, a personal finance reporter, Ashley Ebbling joins me.
1:44.0	So, Ashley, let's start with a big picture. A lot of the diving up of family heirlooms is determined by what's been stated in a person's will.
1:52.0	How does someone draw up a will?
1:54.0	Well, typically you'll work with an estate lawyer to draw up a will and or a trust.
1:58.0	But it's interesting, a lot of estate lawyers can loss over the stuff, the personal properties, what it's called, in a state tax lingo.
2:06.0	But make sure you talk to the lawyer about your stuff.
2:10.0	Not just bank accounts and real estate, but the jewelry, your collections, that kind of thing that you want to know where it's going to go.
2:18.0	Typically, a will would say, I leave my personal property to my spouse, if no spouse survives me to my children to be divided as they agree, or to be divided equally.
	...

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