Warren Buffet is world-renowned as one of the most successful investors, known for his wisdom on wealth creation. In a recent letter to shareholders of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffet shared a simple yet often overlooked tip for parents planning their estates: talk to your children about your will before you sign it. While these conversations can be emotionally charged, transparency and testamentary intent are imperative to avoid disputes and conflicts that can boil over into costly litigation. At our firm, we see conflicts arise from a lack of transparency all the time. Because of this, it is crucial to talk often and openly about how you want your estate to be divided.
“One of the things I recommend at the elder law clinic where I volunteer is to talk early and often about what you want for your care and distribution of assets, and one reason I encourage this transparency is that it is at the heart of testamentary intent,” said Ali L. Nicolette, an Associate at Gokal Law Group with a broad range of litigation experience. She was named a Super Lawyers Southern California Rising Star 2024. “Secrecy can lead to larger problems and risk your wishes not being followed after you pass.”
Here’s how establishing this transparency and an open line of communication can prevent conflicts after you pass that obstruct your wishes and, if litigation ensues, how both can be used in court to ensure your wishes are honored. So, let’s get into it.
Why Talk About Your Wishes?
When it comes to transparency and testamentary intent, the goal is that there are no surprises when your children read your will. Talking about money, and especially death, can feel uncomfortable. But keeping estate plans hidden could make things more difficult for your children.
Explain the logic behind your decisions, and help them understand the responsibilities they’ll inherit when you’re no longer around. Some parents fear having these tough conversations because they fear it might cause conflict and create resentment among children. However, if you fail to disclose your wishes until you’re gone, these conflicts will likely surface anyway.
In the wake of grieving, your children will be prone to having a stronger emotional reaction, causing conflicts to snowball into disputes and litigation that undermine the legacy you want to leave behind and cause irreparable rifts among siblings and other family members.
Just as importantly, if these conflicts arise while you are estate planning, you will be around to manage them, prevent misunderstandings, provide clarity as to the reasoning behind your wishes, and even forge closer ties and a greater sense of respect for one another.
“You’re doing a disservice to your children when you don’t have these conversations, and you’re jeopardizing your legacy, estate, and final wishes because this is often the cause of litigation. Still, this transparency and testamentary intent are also valuable legal tools if conflicts and disputes arise despite your efforts. If these conflicts are impossible to resolve with candid conversation, by disclosing your wishes, you are still ensuring they are carried out,” said Nicolette.
Related Article: The Emotional Toll on Siblings Contesting a Trust
The Power of Transparency and Testamentary Intent
As we mentioned, if a dispute arises, these conversations are also crucial to ensuring your wishes are carried out after you are gone.
Testamentary intent refers to the deceased person’s intention as expressed in their will or other estate planning documents. In legal proceedings, evidence of testamentary intent can play a crucial role in determining the validity of a will or trust.
“Testamentary intent is a major component of litigation, and proving intent can be crucial,” said Nicolette. “If a person talks for decades about how they want their estate divided and there are dozens of witnesses who can attest as much, that strengthens a case for someone who has been suddenly disinherited, and it can also help mitigate expensive, protracted litigation after they pass.”
Discussing your wishes openly with your family and friends creates a stronger foundation for your testamentary intent. If a dispute arises, this evidence can help support your intended distribution of assets and ensure that your wishes are respected.
Related Article: How to Prepare for an Orange County Trust Litigation
It Shouldn’t Be a One-and-Done Conversation
These should not be one-and-done conversations – you should have several conversations about how you plan to divide and distribute your estate. This will make managing the emotional impact a little easier on you, and it will be easier for your children to handle, too.
“It’s really important to remember that emotion is going to steer the conversation when discussing dividing wealth,” said Nicolette. “There’s no getting around that. The only way to minimize the stress, surprise, and anger associated with these conversations is to piecemeal them – have them in small parts over a longer period of time. For families who live far apart, this could require some extra effort, but the same principle applies. Do not allow distance to derail your estate planning goals.”
Further, regular communication is essential because families change, whether due to births, deaths, divorces, or marriages, as do estates and assets you want to include in your will.
You should also follow up with your children individually – especially the ones who are quiet when everyone comes together to have these conversations. Here are some tips for effective communication to avoid litigation and ensure your wishes are heard and carried out:
- Choose the Right Time: Select a calm and private moment to have these conversations, and ensure everyone who needs to be informed is there.
- Be Clear and Concise: Explain your intentions in simple terms, avoiding legal jargon.
- Listen Actively: Encourage open dialogue and be receptive to feedback.
- Document Your Wishes: Consider writing a letter or creating a video to further clarify your intentions. Recording conversations with required consent could also be useful.
- Review Your Estate Plan Regularly: As your circumstances change, revisit your estate plan and update your beneficiaries.
By taking the time to communicate openly about your estate planning wishes, you can protect your legacy, provide peace of mind for your loved ones, and minimize the chances for expensive, protracted litigation after you pass.
Related Article: What Does a California Trust Litigation Lawyer Do?
Do You Need Help Proving Testamentary Intent? We Can Help.
By following Warren Buffett’s advice and engaging in open and honest conversations about your estate plan, you significantly reduce the risk of family conflict and costly litigation. Proactively addressing your wishes and ensuring your testamentary intent is clear is vital to safeguarding your legacy and providing peace of mind for your loved ones.
If you are dealing with an issue where you need to leverage transparency and testamentary intent to enforce the wishes of a deceased loved one, contact us today. We can help.
Disclaimer:
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader, user, or browser and Gokal Law Group, Inc. All information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information.
Readers of this website should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation.