Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?™

Vintage pie plate vector illustration, remixed from the artwork by Cora Parker

While the process may seem taxing and at times even exasperating, remember, you were singled out because of your demonstrated leadership, fairness, meticulous attention to detail, and compassion. These are the qualities that earned you the role of an executor for a probate estate.

Even in moments of frustration and exhaustion, always remember that nobody could fulfill this role as effectively as you.

Now, I have an important question for you…

Did you find the responsibility of determining “who gets what” and deciding what to do with the personal property of the estate more complex than you initially thought?

Well, let me share a resource with you…

Several years ago, I stumbled upon a highly insightful article from the University of Montana. This article has proven to be a valuable guide for many executors like you, especially when it comes to distributing personal property.

The article is aptly named “Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?” and you can find it attached at the end of this blog post.

Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?™

Personal belongings often have special meaning for individuals and family members. Planning to pass on such items — treasured wedding photo, Grandpa’s fishing tackle box, or a well-used yellow pie plate — can be challenging and may lead to family conflict.

“This yellow pie plate belonged to my great grandmother who spent time in the kitchen with her daughters’ baking pies. She gave it to our grandmother. The tradition of baking pies has continued through the generations and the yellow pie plate is always on the table at family gatherings. I hope someday it will be mine. It’s a piece of my living history.” -Andrea

Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?™ provides people with practical information about the inheritance and transfer of non-titled personal property. The curriculum, workshop, and related web resources help families communicate, make decisions, and lessen conflict.

No matter who you are in the process — parent, spouse, child, educator, legal professional, or social service staff — the Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?™ resources, and the related Intergenerational Land Transfer resources, can help you:

• Bring up inheritance issues for discussion.
• Prepare a legally appropriate list of non-titled property.
• Decide what “fair” means.
• Ask others what objects they would like and why.
• Identify transfer goals.
• Select distribution and transfer methods that fit goals.
• Consider how to deal with conflicts before they arise.

If you would like to learn more about personal property distribution from the eyes of an executor or administrator, this is a great workbook to obtain. It is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate? Workbook: A Guide to Passing on Personal Possessions

Nov 2011

by Marlene S. Stum