When it comes to estate planning, it is common for people to think that all children in the family should be treated equally. Florida parents who would like to favor one child over another know what a stressful decision this can be.
There are a lot of reasons why parents may favor one child more than the others in their estate plan. Perhaps one child has taken care of them more than the others. Or it may be that one child is not as financially well-off as the others. If one of the children is a heart surgeon and the other is a schoolteacher, the chances are pretty good that one of them is doing better financially than the other.
The truth is that the individual planning their estate is the one who can make the final decision. It is their money, and they can leave it to whomever they would like. Deciding to discuss this with the children can be a difficult decision. Parents may feel a little bit uncomfortable giving an explanation to the family because of societal pressure that all kids in the family should be treated equally. However, just because society puts pressure on everyone, it doesn’t mean that all kids have to be or should be treated equally.
Some individuals decide to let a lawyer handle a conversation with children about a parent’s estate plan. Or they may turn to a lawyer to help with things like documenting wills or including clauses in a will. For example, the attorney may be able to plan for potential challenges to the will, so he or she could do simple things like including clauses that would penalize someone who would bring an unsuccessful will challenge. Their attorney may be able to provide other advice regarding how an estate would be handled upon someone’s death.
