Proud Grandparent? How to Divide Assets Among Your Grandchildren

If you’re a grandparent with a large family, you likely take pride in all your grandchildren. As part of your estate plan, you may want to divide your finances and property among those grandkids.

However, this can be complicated–especially if you want to leave a house or other high-value physical property to your grandchildren.

Options for your assets

There are plenty of ways to divide your property and assets. Part of having a full estate plan that covers everything is working with a professional who can help you parse out the details that fit your needs. When a large family is involved, the matter can become complicated very quickly. Among your options to consider:

• Trusts. There are a variety of trusts that may fit your needs. The type you choose will depend on factors such as what assets you are dividing, who is involved and how you want those assets divided.
• Divide physical property. If you have valuables you want to leave to specific grandchildren, have a plan in place before you pass away. Make sure your plan establishes who gets what item if you have specific wishes.
• Homes and other property. If you have a home or other property and name multiple beneficiaries, you need a plan in place. If you simply hand over a property to 15 grandchildren, all with an equal share, they will have to agree on how to handle that property. There are options to explore that are best for your situation to make sure the property is divided fairly and without causing conflict.

The main thing to remember when you have a large family is you want to make sure you have a plan for everything. What exactly that means depends on how many beneficiaries you have and what assets you are dividing.