Estate Liquidation | 5-minute read
Personal Property | Estate Assets  | Estate Distribution

Who gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?

Estate property which does not have a title, or ownership specified as the decedent, (such as a car, real estate or some financial assets) are non-titled assets.  These non-titled assets may be referred to as Personal Property, sometimes, “Personalty”, and can have little to no material value to significant value.  In the absence of specific instructions from the decedent, it can fall to the executor to distribute these items among the heirs or liquidate.

“Mom said I could have Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate.”

“No, Mom said I could have Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate.”

And that’s just the pie plate!

Professor Marlene S. Stum, extension specialist and Professor of Family Social Science has created a collection of resources to help executors and heirs manage the process of distributing a family’s personal property.  “Who Get’s Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate” is a metaphor, but based on the true story of one of Professor Strum’s research cases.

Many families who face this process face similar challenges. It can be an emotional exercise to determine who’s who’s going to get what.  Often this process can lead to conflict as the material possessions move from one generation to the next.

The Who Get’s Grandma’s Pie Plate? resources provide examples, discussion, and context to help heirs and executors alike cope with various aspects of the experience.

For the executor caught between a pile of personal property, and a family of expectant beneficiaries, understanding the dynamics of the road ahead can save headache, heartache and damaged relationships.

Workbook: Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?

Per the University of Minnesota Extension Website, “This workbook walks you through the entire process, from understanding the issues, identifying objects to transfer, reviewing distribution options and managing conflicts.”

The workbook covers common decision-making challenges when discussing and distributing estate personal property.  

• Understanding the sensitivity of property distribution.
• Determine what you want to do
• What is fair for the beneficiaries and the family.
• Recognizing the different significance of each item to different individuals.
• Distribution options to consider, and consequences
• Conflict – Agree to manage.

UMN Extension page – Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate? Workbook.

Video: Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?

Chapters:

7:47 Factor 1: Recognize the sensitivity of the issue

10:29 Factor 2: Determine what you want to accomplish

13:12 Factor 3: Decide what’s “fair” in the context of your family

24:41 Factor 4: Understand belongings have different meanings to different individuals

27:26 Factor 5: Consider distribution options and consequences

31:59 Factor 6: Agree to manage conflicts if they arise

More:

Property transfer affects everyone
https://extension.umn.edu/who-gets-grandmas-yellow-pie-plate/property-transfer-affects-everyone

It’s Only a Pie Plate, Right?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11Z-EKip8e1AsYU73k89HIrkbcLviCzmN/view