Kiplinger

Jun 12, 2025

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Is Your Will ‘Fair’? Estate Planning Is About More Than Money

Your will and estate plan should leave your heirs feeling loved. An expert weighs in on how to avoid family feuds after you’re gone.

Creating a will or estate plan is a good way to help ensure that your wishes are carried out once you’ve passed away. But in the course of writing your will, trust, or whatever tool you use to dictate the terms of an inheritance, you don’t want to only think about the assets you have and how you’re splitting them up among your heirs. It’s essential to look at the big picture, too.

An estimated 35% of U.S. adults say they or someone they know has experienced familial conflict due to gaps in estate planning, according to a 2024 Vanilla survey. So, your best bet is to try to avoid such strife by taking extra care to ensure your will is as fair as possible.

When an even split won’t work

For the purpose of this discussion, we’ll assume you’re looking to split your assets across multiple children, as opposed to sharing the wealth between children, nieces, nephews, and distant cousins. In the former scenario, you may find that an even split is your best course of action. If you have a $1.2 million estate and three children, each beneficiary gets $400,000. Simple.

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Read more: Is Your Will ‘Fair’? Estate Planning Is About More Than Money

Maurie Backman