10 Estate Planning Mistakes to Avoid
Estate Planning Mistake #10: Leaving Personal Property Unclear — Robin Williams
When “jewelry” and “memorabilia” are not clear enough.
The Robin Williams estate planning story shows that even a sophisticated plan can leave room for family conflict. He used trusts to provide for his wife, Susan Schneider Williams, and his three children.
But after his death in 2014, a dispute arose over some of his most personal possessions.
Public reports described disagreements over clothing, watches, photographs, memorabilia, bicycles, household items, and other property. The dispute eventually brought Williams’ widow and children into court.
The Problem With Personal Property
The dispute turned in part on words that sound simple.
What is “jewelry”? Does that include a collection of watches?
What qualifies as “memorabilia”? Is every item connected to a famous person’s life memorabilia, or only items connected to that person’s career?
And what happens when an estate plan gives someone the contents of a home but separately gives other categories of personal property to someone else?
Those questions mattered in the Robin Williams estate. His widow and children disagreed over how the trust applied to particular items and over the funding of the home where Williams and his wife had lived.
Personal Property Deserves Real Planning
Estate planning often focuses on the big assets. Houses. Investment accounts. Retirement plans. Businesses. Life insurance.
But families do not always fight over the most valuable asset.
They may fight over a wedding ring, a watch, family photographs, artwork, furniture, collections, or an item that has little financial value but enormous sentimental value.
A good estate plan should account for those possibilities. Important items can be identified individually. Collections can be addressed separately. Terms such as “jewelry,” “personal effects,” and “memorabilia” can be defined when their meaning might matter. The plan can also give the executor or trustee a clear process for resolving competing requests.
For New Jersey residents, there is another useful planning tool. N.J.S.A. 3B:3-11 permits a will to refer to a separate written statement or list disposing of tangible personal property, other than money, if the statutory requirements are satisfied. The writing must identify the property and the intended recipients with reasonable certainty.
How the Robin Williams Estate Planning Dispute Ended
After months of court proceedings and mediation, Williams’ widow and children reached a settlement in 2015.
Reports indicated that Susan Williams would remain in the couple’s Tiburon home, with a trust paying expenses associated with the property. She also received certain sentimental possessions, including a watch, a bicycle purchased during the couple’s honeymoon, and wedding gifts.
The larger lesson is not that Robin Williams failed to plan.
He planned.
The lesson is that even a carefully prepared estate plan can benefit from extra attention to the belongings that family members may value most.
If your estate plan simply says what happens to your “personal effects” or “tangible personal property,” consider whether that language gives your family enough direction.
It is much easier to answer those questions now than to leave them for a trustee—or a judge—to answer later.
Sources: Associated Press: initial Robin Williams estate dispute · Los Angeles Times: court proceedings and trust provisions · Associated Press: 2015 settlement
This article discusses publicly reported information about the Robin Williams estate for educational purposes. Public reporting may not reflect every fact or provision of the estate plan.
How long has it been since you reviewed your estate plan with an attorney?