If you look around your home, you can probably find a lot of items that are precious to you that your kids would prefer not to receive as part of their inheritances.
One of the smaller but significant mistakes in estate planning is when parents make assumptions about what items of personal property their children might like to inherit. For example, a parent might have collectible plates that have been purchased through the years, but the children might not have any interest in them.
Why? Perhaps many other people have the same plates, making the plates not worth very much in the present market.
Inheriting such things becomes a burden for the children who must take the time and effort to sell them for little monetary gain. This and other items children do not want to inherit, were recently discussed by Market Watch in "10 things your kids don't want to inherit."{: target="_blank"}
The exact list of such items is not as important as understanding that every child is different. Some children might like to inherit something on the list, even though most would not. The best thing is to ask your children about whether they want to receive items of personal property after you pass away. In the absence of doing that and getting a straight answer, think about whether the items have monetary value, whether the child has ever shown true interest in them and whether the child has similar tastes.
If parents take the time to think about what personal property their children would and would not like to receive as an inheritance, they can often make handling the estate much easier for their children.
Reference: Market Watch (March 17, 2018) "10 things your kids don't want to inherit."{: target="_blank"}