Do You Have Jewelry? Then You Need an Estate Plan

When thinking of an estate plan, and of the property that you own, there’s one piece of sometimes valuable property that really needs to be accounted for in an estate plan: your jewelry. Although it seems like just another piece of personal property to be left to whomever you deem it to be left to, jewelry can have a significant impact on an estate plan.

What’s the Value?

One issue surrounding jewelry, if there is enough of it, is the value of the jewelry. This matters for a number of reasons.

First, if your estate value nears the state tax (which fluctuates every few years), the value of jewelry could affect who pays estate taxes and who does not.

The other reason is that if you are trying to “even up” your estate, to leave an equal value of assets to multiple beneficiaries, the value of the jewelry being left may make a big difference in dividing assets among beneficiaries.

This is especially true if you are leaving multiple pieces of jewelry, to multiple beneficiaries. You would need to get each jewelry piece appraised, to ensure that everybody is getting an equal share.

The value of your jewelry may also raise the eyebrows of creditors; the more valuable the jewelry is, the more assets in your estate that are available to pay creditors, which may make creditors more likely to make a claim on your estate. This is one scenario, where jewelry being appraised for less, may be better.

These appraisals themselves may cause infighting; different appraisers can have different values. Your estate plan may need a strategy to deal with differing appraisals, similar to a mediation or alternative dispute resolution strategy.

Value Beyond Money

Another big problem with jewelry, is that it often has more of a sentimental value, than an actual monetary value. That can make it difficult to plan for. Even if you “even up” who gets what dollar-wise, a beneficiary who does not get a very meaningful family heirloom piece of jewelry, may feel left out (and be resentful).

It also makes it hard to work out a “sell and divide the sale proceeds” strategy amongst beneficiaries; one may want to sell the jewelry for money, but another may want to keep the jewelry because of its sentimental value.

You can work out a strategy where one beneficiary would get the jewelry for certain time periods—even years—and the other would get it for other time periods. Or, you can order the jewelry sold and the profits divided, to avoid fighting over the jewelry itself. But this is something you’d have to plan for, in advance, in your estate plan.

Going Without an Estate Plan

Remember that if you have no estate plan, the jewelry will be left to whomever the intestate laws say gets them. There will be no equalization or consideration for sentimental value. Don’t leave your jewelry to that kind of haphazard distribution: include jewelry in your estate plan today.

Tailor your estate plan in a way that works best for you and your family.  Call the West Palm Beach estate planning lawyers at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help drafting your estate plan documents.

Source:

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