Be Clear When Expressing Your Estate Planning Intentions

When it comes to your living trust, it is very important to be very clear about your intentions.  You cannot be too clear.  I had two clients who wanted their real estate to pass to their children.  The problem is they had seven kids!  I told them, do you really want your seven children owning real estate together?  One child might want to rent the property, one child may want to live there, another may want to sell it, and another may want to keep it, etc.  Sometimes, too many chefs in the kitchen make for chaotic results.  Sometimes, children argue after their parents pass on.  They argue about money, real estate, mom and dad's true intentions, and so on.   Sometimes the kids don't argue, but their spouses and others influence them to act in unanticipated ways.  I asked the couple, "Is this what you really want?"  They said, "Oh no, what we really want is that our kids sell the real estate and then split the net proceeds evenly among them." I explained, "Then we need to make your intentions clear in your living trust.  If we make your intentions clear, there is less chance for fighting among the siblings after you pass away."