What’s your family dynamic like? It may be easy to assume you’ll always have a good rapport with your siblings or parents, but in times of tragedy when people are really grieving, things can go awry. Death can leave people confused, hurt, and angry, and sometimes those emotions are misplaced. In the face of grief, you may find solace in various items or ideas, but other family members may feel differently than you, and when it comes time to divide the estate plan, it can often cause tension. Don’t add extra stress in such a difficult time! There’s one simple thing you can do to mitigate such conflict: have a Family Meeting.
The Silbernagel Group is Home of The Family Meeting. It’s something we consider an imperative part of the financial wellness process. What is it? It’s exactly as it sounds: a financial meeting with the entire family. It may not sound too glamourous, but this simple meeting provides a lot of benefits to your parents, siblings, and even YOU. When it comes to figuring out how to divide an estate between siblings, this meeting is extremely helpful. Let’s dig into why.
Conducting a Family Meeting allows everyone to be on the same page. Mom and Dad get to express their wishes and go over their estate plan, providing further clarity on their decisions and answering any questions you may have. Having a Financial Professional there can act as an unbiased third party who can explain both why decisions were made and help explain how they’re fair – which doesn’t necessarily mean equal! Additionally, having the space to talk with everyone now instead of guessing what Mom and Dad would have wanted can deter future disagreements, confusion, and hurt feelings. Waiting until there is a moment of crisis to figure out a plan isn’t going to do anyone any favors, so the Family Meeting allows you to get ahead of the game. Discussing and setting up an estate plan also keeps the control within the family, whereas oftentimes, estates instead go through probate and much of the value is lost to taxes, not to mention the extra time things take. Furthermore, your legacy and values will continue to be passed down.
The Silbernagel Group helps guide you through the process of setting up and implementing your estate plan, as well as navigating the family discussion side of it. Our trained advisors have the resources you need from start to finish. Statistics find that 70% of the wealth is lost within the second generation, and 90% is lost by the 3rd*, so we’ve made it our mission to keep the family communicating and keep the wealth and generational values within the lineage. Instead of waiting until tragedy strikes to decide how to divide an estate plan between siblings, let us help you figure out the logistics now. Ask us today how to get started and we’ll make sure your loved ones are our top priority.
*Statistic based on the William’s Group 20-year wealth study
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