During probate, a person’s assets are distributed to their beneficiaries. This is just one aspect of the process, but it is very important. In some cases, they will have left an estate plan that directly addresses specific assets, such as a family home or a financial account. This guides the process.
But what happens to items that just have sentimental value? This can be one of the more difficult parts of the probate process because these items still have to be divided, and different heirs and beneficiaries may disagree on how this should happen. They’re not worried about the financial value of the assets, but they have an emotional connection to them, so multiple people may want to receive the same items.
What assets can cause conflicts?
There are many different family heirlooms that could have sentimental value. But they are often everyday things, such as a collection of art or antiques, jewelry that a parent used to wear, family photographs from over the years and much more. In some cases, it’s as simple as trying to divide up a set of dishes or holiday decorations.
Some experts note this is often where conflicts arise. Items that aren’t worth as much will cause more of an issue because there are fewer options. If beneficiaries disagree over who should receive real estate during probate, in the absence of a clear estate plan, there’s always the option to sell the real estate and split up the money. But with low-value items with sentimental value, selling them doesn’t actually solve the dispute because it just means that no one gets the item they wanted, and it was never about the financial side of things in the first place.
This is just one of the ways that the probate process can become complicated. It’s important to know what legal steps to take.