Gift List of Tangible Property

We're back again, talking about writing your Wills and testamentary documents. So, here's something I want you to remember. When we write the documents, one of our goals is that we want all the people who loved you to still get along when it's all over. And one of the big things that makes people upset, mostly because it's emotional, is the transfer of personal, tangible items. And I'll tell you, when people come into the courthouse fighting about that kind of thing, judges hate it. In fact, they require it to go out for mediation. So here's what I want people to remember. When they're writing their documents, we want to be able to name things that really have highly-charged emotional reactions. And those kinds of things are photos, personal mementoes, heirlooms, things that were gifts that were received by the deceased person, and those gifts you might want to go back to the person who gave them, things that came from a primary family. So if you were married and things really go back to your brothers and sisters, it's really good to honor that. Remember, we want everybody to love each other in the end.

Here's a tip I want you to know: Washington law allows us to write a gift list, and that gift list can be written at a separate time from the time the Will is written, or the Living Trust, as long as the Will refers to it, then you can write it at any time and it will always be honored. So as long as your Will has the paragraph saying, “If I write a gift list it should be treated as though it's included here”, then you can write that gift list at a later time. It will always be included, you don't need the witnesses, and it solves our problem.

Read more about this in my book, Where's There's a Will, There's a Way!, and you can find it at my website wheretheresawilltheresaway.net. No punctuation, wheretheresawilltheresaway.net.

Best wishes, and happy writing.