Estate planning myth: You can just let your beneficiaries decide who gets your personal effects or "stuff," meaning your jewelry, art work, collectibles, tools, books, boats, cars, etc.
Estate planning reality: Your stuff is what your beneficiaries will fight over the most. Why? Because while money and real estate are easy to divide, stuff really isn't.
The recommendation: Don't overlook your stuff when putting together or updating your estate plan. Make a list of who you want to receive big ticket items such as heirloom jewelry or valuable art work. For the rest, either set up a systematic process for your beneficiaries to make rotating picks or let the beneficiaries simply pick what they want and if they can't agree, then let your Personal Representative or Successor Trustee decide for them. And never, ever leave your stuff to your beneficiaries in equal shares - how on earth are they going to be able to determine what everything is really worth let alone divide it equally?