They died without a will – are these two nephews going to end up with 10% of the estate?

Losing a loved one can be devastating — but so can having to figure out who gets what portion of that loved one’s estate.

In this Reddit post, we have someone asking who inherits a loved one’s estate when there are no parents, spouse, or children, but there are four living siblings and two nephews from a fifth deceased sibling.

The answer is, it’s best to consult an attorney for a question like this. But an even better bet is to make it so there’s no confusion about who gets access to your assets after you pass.

The importance of estate planning

Some people don’t take the time to write a will or put a trust in place because they don’t want to deal with estate planning or they can’t wrap their heads around it. But if you don’t take the time to make these decisions, or you don’t get over your discomfort, you could leave your loved ones with a giant mess on their hands later on.

Without a will or trust, you won’t get a say as to who gets your assets. But that means your loved ones also won’t know your intentions.

In the situation above with four surviving siblings and two nephews, it may be that the person who passed would have wanted their nephews to get half their estate. But without a will, it’s anyone’s guess.

Now the rules of what happens when there’s no will or trust can vary from state to state. And if you end up in a situation where you’re not sure about a loved one’s estate, it’s best to consult an attorney.

But an even better bet is to have open conversations as a family about who gets which assets. That way, there’s no misunderstanding, and also, no bad blood between family members.

Get the right help

Estate planning is definitely not the sort of thing you should do alone. There can be complexities involved, especially if you own different types of assets or hold assets in different states.

That’s why you should enlist the help of an estate planning attorney. An estate planning attorney can help you decide which legal tools to use to pass along an inheritance, and they can walk you through the pros and cons of wills versus trusts.

It can also be a good idea to consult a financial advisor. A financial advisor won’t take the place of a lawyer, but they can help you decide which assets to transfer to different people in your life based on their needs and goals as well as yours.

Remember, it’s a tough thing for family members to have to cope with the loss of someone they care about. So don’t put them in a position where they have to wonder what you would’ve wanted to do with your estate, or to fight over who gets to inherit what.

Instead, do your estate planning while you’re still alive and involve your loved ones in that discussion so they know with certainty what to expect.