People drafting wills often have one or two specific priorities. Parents may want to ensure there is a guardian to care for their children if they die. Successful adults often want to control who inherits their property. They may focus on allocating businesses, real property and well-funded financial accounts.
All too often, people overlook seemingly minor details during estate planning, which can have major implications after their passing. People creating or revising their wills may benefit from ensuring that they address their residuary estates in their documents, if they want to prevent conflict after they die.
What is a residuary estate?
A residuary estate contains any assets directly owned by a deceased person not specifically mentioned elsewhere in estate planning documents. Their will might address a home, a vehicle and a retirement account.
It may not contain instructions related to clothing, home furnishings and other personal property. The residuary estate of an individual can be worth thousands of dollars. It can also have significant emotional value to those close to the testator before their passing.
If an estate plan does not address the residuary estate, people may end up fighting over those resources. The disputes they have with one another can cause lasting damage to family dynamics. If the matter ends up triggering probate litigation, the cost of the legal dispute that arises can reduce what everyone inherits from the estate.
Taking the time to address personal property in a will can limit opportunities for conflict and optimize the positive impact that a will has on beneficiaries. Testators who draft wills with the support of estate planning attorneys are generally in the best position possible to avoid common oversights that could cause issues for their beneficiaries.