How do you divide estate property equally between siblings?
Whatever you and your siblings decide to do, you must all be guided first and foremost by what the will stated -- or if there was no will, by the controlling state law, called the law of intestate succession. If the will or the law requires that the estate is to be divided equally, you must do that.
The value of the estate is what must be divided, but there are different ways each asset can be distributed. Clearly, the “value” of a sentimental object is determined subjectively -- not by an appraiser, but by the beneficiary who wants to receive it. An auction for personal property is often a great solution, especially if you and your siblings can't readily agree upon value or upon who will receive a particular item.
Real estate is different. It is easier to determine the objective value of real property, usually by hiring a real estate appraiser or agent. What can be more difficult is figuring out how to divide real estate equally if that is necessary.
Sometimes, siblings agree to sell the property and divide the proceeds, or to keep the property and share its use. In other families, one sibling might want to keep the home, while the others have no interest in it. If there are sufficient other assets in the estate, there can then be a “non pro-rata distribution” -- an equal division of value. In such an arrangement, the sibling who wants the house gets it, and the others get cash or other assets, but everyone walks away with assets of the same value. Another option might be for the sibling who wants the house to simply buy out the other siblings' interests in it.
Your best resource is Julie Hall, The Estate Lady. Julie has written an extremely practical guide, called "The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff." The book is available on Amazon.com. With almost 20 years experience as a personal property appraiser, advisor, and estate liquidator, there is nothing her book doesn't answer, including equitable distribution.
She also has a blog that would be helpful to you, http://estatelady.wordpress.com. Also, she has some great articles on "stuff" and estates at http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Hall
She has always responded to my comments and questions, so try leaving her a message there at one of the two sites.
Hope that helps you solve the estate issues, while keeping family harmony!
I think that's a terrible way to do it. This is what we did - we each drew a number - one for each legal beneficiary, then each person started by choosing ONE item - their favorite, ie. the dining room suite, the living room furniture, one of the bedroom sets, etc. We continued until all of the larger furniture and the sentimental items were gone. Then we had an estate sale for the things no one especially wanted. If two people wanted the same item - they worked it out privately. If they could not agree - then they had to follow the agreed upon "number" system. It's easy and fair. Those who are legal beneficiaries in the will should NOT have to BUY the things that were legally left to them by their loved one. Nieces, nephews, etc. can have their choices of the leftovers or have legal beneficiary can ask for it for themselves and then give to anyone they choose. I think making a legal beneficiary pay for what was left to them is a horrible way to do it. My mother died of cancer and before her death she wanted to personally assign her nice jewelry to certain individuals- she had us take a photo of each individual piece - she then wrote the name of the person SHE wished to give it to on the photo and placed the photo in a sealed envelope - to be opened upon her death. This worked well for the most part except for one sister who thought she had a right to any and everything she wanted. But, even she had to follow the system.
We were so lucky - At least I thought we were so lucky!!
Mom had a Will which stated "all personal assets without beneificary/joint-holder shall be divided equally and if there is any despute, the Executor has final decision". It continued to state that "no Court, etc. shall request an inventory,etc."
The three siblings decided it was best to sell Mom's house immediately since none of us lived close - I was the closest at 850 miles one way! We were concerned about possible vandalism. However, besides having a Will and regardless how Mom stated what to do with her personal belongings, the fact that Waivers of Probate were signed - did NOT mean a thing in Court! The eldest sibling was furious after discovering what Mom did with her assets! The eldest was always so busy - "social calendar doesn't permit it" - when told "Mon is terminal and would like to see her Grandchildren".
The biggest problem was Mom's Executor passed away unexpectedly before closing Mom's Estate and a "Court Appointed Administrator" was assigned to "protect the estate" - (I believe that is the purpose of having such a person - but it wasn't what I encountered!).
NOTE: ALL WILLS SHOULD HAVE A "BACK-UP" EXECUTOR, EXECUTRIX!!!!!
The "Administrator" regardless of Mom's Will - wanted an inventory done - 2 years after Mom passed. The eldest had been to Mom's house twice in eight years and supplied such an elaberate, detailed, emblished inventory - down to the last penny in a covered dish on an end table! Unbelievable! And I was forced to respond! It never became an issue in court but it was done "behind the scenes" for the pure pleasure of causing problems - her "speciality"!
This is the same sibling who told Mom after we lost Dad -"why don't you have Salvation Army come pick up your junk, sell your house and you can buy a wing in our house and be the kids new nanny" - I cannot repeat what Mom replied - along with the hurt feelings from hearing such nonsense! The Executor and I helped our Mother move from the old house to her new house - in fact, Mom called a "family meeting which never included the eldest" and after being reassured that we had no problems with her wanting to move, Mom had us to pick her lot while she signed some papers. It wasn't long when Mom drives up, gets out of the car and asks us why we are sitting on the curb. "This is the lot we picked" - Mom laughed more - same lot she picked!
When asked if she wanted anything in the house, the eldest sibling's answer was always "no". Once she returned home, she called the Executor 3 days in a row requesting items then felt she should not be charged for the shipping of said items! The Eldest accused the "Administrator" of "working for the Defendants" and was able to even "bully" the Judge with filing Motions after Motions, etc. It is still the biggest headache - 5+ years later! The house proceeds were divided in thirds but there was no consideration regarding, clearing, cleaning, and getting the house ready for market - regardless of it being mentioned in the listing agreement!
The Eldest sibling kept saying "Family Lore" - she should be the one to decide if and who gets any of Mom's assets! She even challenged Mom's Will in Court and the Administrator charged Mom's estate the fee! I'm still working on getting this mess straightened out and believe me - no one in the legal system cares! Except for my new attorney who specializes in legal malpractice. Even the State Bar Association "sees no need to investigate" when proof provided that there are missing bank accounts (I have the copies of each account), the shipping receipts each have a "tracking #" if the Administrator would have done his "due diligence" and made a phone call! This is just the tip of the iceberg! Totally unbelievable how some people can complete "corrupt the system" to their liking!
If you have someone in your family connected with the legal system, or in my case, a part-time job in filing lawsuites -watch out!!!!!
Having gone through the painful, divisive process of dividing up my parents estate with my two brothers after my parents' deaths, I decided to do something entirely different. I invited my three children and their spouses to meet with me so they could hear what my plans were,voice any objections, and make any suggestions. I told them I was creating a revocable living trust that was entirely under my control as long as I was alive and capable. At such time as I was unable, or chose not to manage it,the executor would take over in my place and have full legal authority to manage all my affairs except for power of attorney over my health. I would also have a will for those things that were outside of the legal purview of a trust. I then asked them who would like to be executor. They agreed among themselves that it should be the older son but that my daughter, who was good at "kicking ass," as she put it," would handle the will and also make sure the executor kept on track. My younger son said he would be the POA for my living will . . . that would direct my health care at the end. As he said, "I may not entirely agree with everything you want or don't want, but if those are your wishes, I will fight to make sure they happen" (I wanted DNR and no attempts to prolong my life).
As for the details of the living trust, I said I trusted the three of them and believed they trusted one another enough to put it in simple terms: whatever they all agreed upon was fine for dividing things up, no matter the monetary values (not counting insurance and direct being direct beneficiaries). If any one of them should not agree, the process would stop, the items or items would be sold and the money split three ways. However, if there were particular things they wished (artwork, jewelry, books, etc.), tell me and I would earmark them specifically in the will. There were also some minor bequests for my grandchildren and my brother and cousin.
I figured I didn't need to run their lives from a distance. They could figure it out on their own. I love them, and know they love and trust one another, do figure out what works best for their needs and separate lifestyles, etc.
Well, I need to update it because I've moved to a different state and added a grandson to the mix since I wrote it and had it filed, but I still think it's a good way to go, and the lawyer agreed that it was legal and all.
