Tangible Personal Property in Wills

Tangible Personal Property in Wills

Most of us have heard of the Residuary (or Remainder) Estate.  This indicates who receives your entire remaining estate after debts and expenses are paid, and after prior bequests are satisfied.  A common prior bequest is one of tangible personal property.  But since you have a Residuary clause in your Will, why do you need to have a separate clause for tangible property?  There are a few reasons, but one of the most practical is that some assets cannot be easily divided among several people.

The Car

If you have three residuary beneficiaries and one car, it is not practical to divide title in 3 ways.  By identifying the car in your tangible personal property, you can direct which beneficiary will receive the car.

The Watch collection

A collection of objects may be more valuable together than separated. Your three residuary beneficiaries may disagree on whether to keep the watch collection together or to divide the watches equally. In such a case, the Executor will consider the requests of the beneficiaries, but the ultimate result may not make everyone happy.

By working with an attorney, you can identify if you want a specific watch to go to Beneficiary 1, if you want the remaining watches to be kept as a collection and given to another beneficiary, or even if you want the watches sold by your Executor and add the proceeds to your residuary estate.

The Digital Photographs, the Computer, and the Cloud

If you are an avid photographer, you may have digital photographs stored on your hard drive or in the cloud. For purposes of digital assets, these are three separate items that can be bequeathed separately. The first is the actual content of the photographs. You can direct that Beneficiary 1 receives the photographs for purposes of safekeeping or gallery showing. The second is the physical computer on which it is stored. You may direct that Beneficiary 2 receive the computer without the contents of the photographs. The third is access to the online account that stores your digital photographs. You may direct that the Executor sell these photos, that a private foundation be created to exhibit the photographs in museums and galleries, that a university or gallery receive the photos, or that the photos be divided among your three beneficiaries based on their preferences first, with final decision made by the Executor.

Don’t forget the Tangible Property!

The tangible property clause is important to ensure a smooth process in distributing the physical property you have attained during your lifetime.  Without it, the residuary clause may create a drawn out process to determine who receives your tangible property in equal shares.