tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29683660.post7643663382237228604..comments2024-03-22T17:29:06.434-05:00Comments on Iowa Estate Plan: And my Treasured Toaster Goes to...matthewgardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03654388170870329353noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29683660.post-43058931312663609872011-04-11T20:00:05.171-05:002011-04-11T20:00:05.171-05:00We have a situation where the estate and all belon...We have a situation where the estate and all belongings were left among 4 great neices and nephews. There has not been an official will reading, and am told there will not be. Our biggest issue is that 3 of the 4 people want to just hold an auction and sell everything, and the 4th does not. Does the 4th one have any rights in this case?Kadienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29683660.post-77152198578289233602007-07-10T10:03:00.000-05:002007-07-10T10:03:00.000-05:00Wow - those are great ideas and I can put them for...Wow - those are great ideas and I can put them forward in the spirit of resolving the issues. The idea of the auction using phantom money and an independent family member overseeing is not something that had ever occurred to me, but I can see exactly how it would work. <BR/><BR/>Thank you so much Mr Gardner - I hope your suggestions also help other families in this situation. I think they will help ours.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29683660.post-87287175072632586982007-07-10T08:19:00.000-05:002007-07-10T08:19:00.000-05:00No, I don't think that is reasonable. Others may ...No, I don't think that is reasonable. Others may have grandchidren, step-grandchildren, etc. You can agree to pass these on to their grandchild at your passing if you don't have your own grandchildren.<BR/><BR/>If the family can't agree on a division of assets, there are some options to follow your mother's directions of splitting equally. One option is a "round robin" process where you draw straws to see who goes first and then take turns selecting items until they are gone. Another option is a form of an auction, where each beneficiary is granted "phantom money" and the parties are allowed to bid on items. This permits one beneficiary to use all of their "chips" on just a few select items if they choose.<BR/><BR/>For photographs, they can be copied, unless there are one of a kind momento items.<BR/><BR/>Using an outside party to mediate may help keep some family harmony. Good luck.Matthew Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02709579276760129807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29683660.post-23748752425915486862007-07-10T05:57:00.000-05:002007-07-10T05:57:00.000-05:00Do you have any advice or services you can recomme...Do you have any advice or services you can recommend when a family is in exactly this situation? My mother listed that everything was to be split equally, however one of the beneficiaries in insisting on receiving *all* of the important (not valuable) personal stuff on the basis that they have the only grandchild. Does this sound reasonable? We're talking photograph albums and low commercial value items. Any advice welcome as the rest of us want everything to be handled in a friendly and fair manner and it is proving problematic!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com