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While giving each of your children the same of everything may feel like the obvious (or only) option, there are plenty of situations in which an equal inheritance for all beneficiaries simply doesn’t work. There are plenty of pros and cons to this decision, and we look at some of the most significant below to help you in your decision.
The Pros
- Fair is fair – if you have always been committed to ensuring that each of your children is treated equally, then this really is the best option. Any discrepancies between one child’s inheritance and another – even minor – can cause long-standing issues between siblings, and leave an unanswerable question hanging over your beneficiaries’ heads for the rest of their lives.
- Lower risk of disputes – at times, some disparity between one child’s inheritance and another may be easily explained – and easy for the beneficiaries to swallow. Others, it may come across like a real oversight – a mistake that does not truly reflect your wishes. If this happens, then the door is left open for beneficiaries to contest the will. The trouble is, will disputes can go on for many months, if not longer, and cause major issues within the family unit. If everyone inherits the same, the risk of a dispute is (typically) much lower.
- It’s simpler for you – writing a will is never a walk in the park, and giving each of your children different amounts will complicate things further. From writing to executing the will, equal inheritances simplify the process immensely.
The Cons
- One child may deserve more – if one of your children has stepped up to offer more care, time, and help to you over the years, then you may well believe that they deserve to inherit more from your estate than other children. Whether it’s simply to cover the costs of taking care of you or to offer special thanks, there are plenty of reasons to prioritise one beneficiary over the others.
- Or, alternatively, less – it may not be that one of your children has done more for you, but that one (or more) of your children has done something that you feel reduces their claim to your estate. Estrangement from your child or an ongoing rift may push you to this decision. While cases of disinheriting a child may be in the minority, they certainly do happen, and it’s down to you whether or not your children all have the same claim to an inheritance from you.
- One child may be more dependent on financial help than others – if one of your children is still living at home or remains relatively dependent on you to keep them afloat each month, then a special concession may need to be made to ensure they’re not suddenly cast adrift without a safety net. This may be something you should discuss with your other children, to ensure they don’t feel deprioritised when the will is brought to light.
There really is no universally right or wrong answer here. It all depends on you, your family unit – any dynamics or arrangements that exist within it – and what you feel is fair, just, and deserved.