PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: WEB SITE AIMS TO TAKE THE RANCOR OUT OF DIVIDING UP AN ESTATE

Dividing up family heirlooms can be a difficult business. Wills often deal only with financial assets, not personal possessions, and infighting between family members over who gets which personal item can damage relationships for years to come.

Now there is a Web site that may help families avoid acrimony and make the process of dividing up possessions in an estate easier. The site, eDivvyup.com, allows the deceased’s loved-ones to divide upthe personal estate using an auction platform similar to eBay's.

The estate's executor gives family members non-monetary points, which they can use to bid on estate items that can be listed and pictured on the site. Bids reflect a family member's desire to own an item. A sister who covets grandmother's Chinese vase will allocate more of her points to that item, making it more likely that her brother will be the winning bidder on the sideboard he would love to put in his dining room. eDivvyup seems particularly well-suited for families that are geographically dispersed, as many are.

The cost of the service is $49 to list 50 items. Additional item listings can be purchased as needed.

For more information: www.edivvyup.com

For an article on dividing possessions before death, that also includes links to other helpful resources, including mediation services, see: http://www.elderlawanswers.com/resources/article.asp?id=3799&section=4 .

-Adapted from: “Web Site Aims to Take the Rancor Out of Dividing Up an Estate”, ElderLaw News from ElderLawAnswers, June 2008.

06/08