Many family heirlooms do not have significant financial value. Their worth is more sentimental, tied to the family’s past or cherished memories.
For example, a set of dishes used every Christmas could be considered a valuable family heirloom, even though those dishes would be worth virtually nothing if sold. They hold immense importance to the family because adult children may remember using those dishes on Christmas Eve during their childhood.
Often, people assume that these types of assets are unlikely to cause estate disputes specifically because they lack financial value. They imagine disputes will revolve around high-value assets like investment portfolios or real estate. However, the reality is that heirlooms can often be more complex and contentious.
A lack of viable solutions
When disputes arise over who should receive an heirloom, the problem is that there may not be many solutions that are acceptable to all parties. Because these items have low financial value, selling them and splitting the money doesn’t make much sense.
For example, when heirs are disputing over a family home, selling the house is a practical option, as beneficiaries are often most interested in the monetary value. With a family heirloom, however, the focus is different. The heirs aren’t interested in the monetary value, so selling the items and dividing the proceeds doesn’t resolve the issue.
Moreover, it’s often impossible to divide these items among multiple beneficiaries. Even purchasing a similar item—such as buying an identical set of Christmas dishes—doesn’t solve the problem because the new item lacks the sentimental value tied to the original.
Because there are few acceptable solutions, disputes over family heirlooms can become highly contentious. It’s important to keep this in mind when drafting an estate plan.
