Estate Planning Tools: Memorandums of Personal Property
One important reason to have a will is to dispose of your personal property after death. But what about the smaller, often sentimental, gifts which you may want to make? This problem is often addressed with a provision like this in your will:
“I may leave a memorandum indicating to whom I desire specific tangible personal property to be distributed. If I do leave such a memorandum, then I direct my Executor to act in accordance with the distributions made in that memorandum. “
The “Personal Property Memorandum” referred to by this will is a separate signed document which instructs your executor how to distribute particular items of personal property to individuals. Including a list of personal property in a document like this instead of a will prevents your will from being too lengthy, and it is simpler to revise than a will.
It might read something like this:
“I give the following tangible personal property to the following beneficiaries:
To my cousin, Jose, I give my baseball card collection.
To my brother, Nolan, I give my piano.
To my sister, Michelle, I give my grandmother’s china.”
It’s important to keep a few things in mind when you are preparing a personal property memorandum:
Clearly describe the property which you are giving. For example, a gift of “my boat” could create confusion if you own two boats at the time of death.
Identify the beneficiaries so that they can be located, including phone numbers or addresses if necessary.
Remember that not all property can be given in this way. A memorandum of this type can only be used to dispose tangible personal property - it cannot be used to transfer things like cash or stocks.
Consider other options if you want to make sure that the beneficiary receives a gift. If you do not own the named property at the time of death, the gift “lapses” - meaning that beneficiary gets nothing.
For assistance with this or other estate planning questions, contact our office today.