Liquid vs. Illiquid Assets to Leave Your Loved Ones

Estate planning is about more than deciding that you want to leave things behind to your loved ones- it’s also about deciding what you’ll be leaving behind and how it makes the most sense for your family members and friends. What they are able to do with those assets could have a big impact on their future. 

Taking an inventory of all of your assets while you are still alive allows you to determine the best strategies for your estate planning overall. You might decide that some of these assets should be gifted to individuals while you are still alive or placed inside a trust for the purposes of asset protection or estate planning.

Consider liquidity as well when you determine what assets you would like to leave behind to your family members. A liquid asset is any asset that can easily be converted to cash with little impact on the price of that asset. if your estate is mostly made up of hard assets, your heirs may be forced to sell these for a discounted price in order to raise the funds necessary to pay for the estate tax.