Much of estate planning revolves around leaving assets to singular beneficiaries. You may choose one person who gets the family home, another person who gets a vacation property, and a third who gets a small business. Family heirlooms like book collections or jewelry collections often go to specific individuals, and financial accounts can be divided between them.
But what if you would like to leave your house to two or more beneficiaries at the same time? Say that you have two adult children, and you simply want to give them both equal ownership in the family home where they grew up. Do you have to pick one, or can you designate them both as equal co-owners?
You can use multiple beneficiaries
To begin with, yes, you can select multiple beneficiaries and leave them the ownership of the same house. You do not have to pick just one person to receive that asset.
However, this is a bit more complex. You will have to determine if you want them to have joint tenancy or tenancy in common, for example. This dictates how they can sell their share in the house.
It can also be important just to talk with the beneficiaries in advance. If you leave them both a particular significant asset, it can cause conflicts and disagreements. What if one adult child wants to sell the house immediately because they already own a home and would rather have the cash, while the other person wants to move into the house and live there? Having important conversations about things like this in advance can help reduce the amount of conflict between beneficiaries after you pass away.
Setting up your estate plan
Passing on real estate can be a complicated process, but there are many options to consider. It may help to work with an experienced law firm as you set up your estate plan this year.
