Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) is a day of remembrance to honor our ancestors. The day is centered around connecting with our departed loved ones and honoring their memories.  One common ritual practiced on the Day of the Dead is to set out photographs and personal belongings of loved ones.  But, how do these personal items get to the right individuals to set out? How is your estate plan connected to this holiday?

Your personal belongings are a part of your estate.  Everything from your wedding ring, to the old books on the bookshelf are parts of your estate, but how do you go about accounting for these items in your plan?  One way of passing your personal items to your loved ones is by identifying them by Personal Property Memorandum.  Whether in your Will or Trust, if your plan has a Personal Property Memorandum incorporated by reference, your personal items may be described, along with a specific beneficiary identified to receive the item.

Another way of getting specific personal items to the right person is by making specific gifts within your Trust.  Items may be catalogued with photographs and detailed descriptions and distributed by specific gift provisions within your Trust. We often see gifts of this nature made for higher monetary value items of $5,000.00 or more.

Whether or not you observe the day of the dead,  the tradition of holding onto personal items and meaningful memories is a common means of keeping our connection with departed loved ones.