"Grandma's Pie Plate" - Avoiding the Fights

The Deseret News ran an article today discussing one of the most important estate planning strategies for avoiding family fights after a death in the family.  There is a real temptation for people to ignore these issues until it is too late.  Too often, I hear my clients say things like "my kids get along very well.  There won't be any fights over my things when I'm gone.  I trust them to work it out amicably."  I honestly hope that is the case.  

But my experience, unfortunately, leads me to believe otherwise.  There is just no real good reason to put off this issue.  Yes, it may be uncomfortable at first.  But I've often found that once the topic is addressed, it becomes very easy to discuss.  And more importantly, it goes a very long way to preventing family discord before it ever gets a chance to rear its ugly head.  If you aren't sure where to start, talk to your estate planning attorney.  He or she should have at least 1/2 dozen or so ideas.

Have any of you ever seen a particularly helpful method for distributing a loved one's personal property?  Please make a comment to this post if you have.  I'm always looking for new ideas to share with my clients and others.