The more potential heirs and beneficiaries that you have, the more likely it is that there will be disputes over your estate.
If you have one child who will be the sole heir of your estate, the chances of disputes over the estate are fairly low. The one child is not going to fight over what to do with the estate assets. However, if you have two children, the potential for disputes grows exponentially.
The more children or other beneficiaries you have, the bigger the potential for conflict as The New York Times discussed in "Here's How to Maintain Peace Among Your Heirs."
The most important thing to keep in mind is that your children might have very different ideas than you do regarding how your estate should be divided and distributed. Even giving every child an equal portion of an estate can be viewed as unfair in some circumstances.
To help avoid conflicts, you should not wall your children off completely from your estate planning. You should instead talk to them about why you are making the decisions that you are. If your children know why you are doing something, they are more likely to accept it and not fight over it between themselves.
The person you appoint to be in charge of your estate or trust must be seen as impartial and not conflicted. For example, if you name one child to be a trustee, your other children might eventually believe that one child is making decisions out of nothing more than self-interest. If a trust is expected to survive for a long time, it is a good idea to consider a professional trustee.
Reference: New York Times (March 22, 2018) "Here's How to Maintain Peace Among Your Heirs."
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