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Caregivers and family members may even do you a favor and just say yes to handle the getting-rid-of process for you. When my father-in-law died and my mother-in-law moved her residence, we
didn’t have the heart to say no when she asked us to take things. So instead we just said yes and, with her permission, found a good charity to take them or another person who could use
them. PLAN NOW, AVOID PROBLEMS LATER You may not have the time, wherewithal or ability to pare down now. Or you may have already given away as much as you want to. Either way, you’ll still
need to address your belongings as part of your estate plan. And not to worry — you don’t need to put little pieces of tape with people’s names on everything you own. If you write a will,
it may reference your “tangible personal property.” Think of this as “anything that can be touched” that is not money, real estate or accounts — like cars, clothes, family heirlooms, jewelry
and so on. I generally don’t list tangible personal property in my clients’ wills or trusts. Unless there’s something significantly valuable (like a fine art collection), we recommend
writing a separate memorandum. This memorandum can list certain items and who you would like to have them. And you can change it as much as you want without changing your will or trust
documents. An important safety point: If you own firearms or weapons, then you must address them in your plan. A conversation should and must be had with your caregivers and loved ones about
how they need to be handled and transferred. A lawyer can advise on the firearm inheritance laws in your state and with setting up a gun trust if needed. You can write your estate plan to
let your beneficiaries decide amongst themselves what to do with your tangible items. But they may not always agree. As a probate lawyer, I’ve seen families go toe-to-toe over valueless
items. If they’re mad enough, they’ll fight over a rusty old spoon. To keep them from fighting and keep the distribution fair, you can have your executor use a lottery system to let the
beneficiaries choose what they want. Or, for items of value, a beneficiary can take a lesser share of other assets to equalize everyone’s inheritance. Whether you expect everyone to argue,
or not care in the slightest, a safe bet is to give your executor sole and absolute discretion to decide who gets what, with authority to sell items and distribute the money. Cleaning out
another person’s lifetime of accumulated belongings can bring up good memories, but more often it’s burdensome. Your loved ones will surely thank you for thinking it through and giving them
more ease in handling your final affairs by simplifying and organizing your possessions, so they don’t have to.