A Personal Property Memorandum allows you to easily distribute tangible personal property like household items outside of your will. It is a separate document that your will references to dispose of property after death. The memorandum can be handwritten or typed and changed at any time without an attorney. For married couples, the memorandum only needs to include items not passing to the surviving spouse. For single people, it specifies items not part of the residuary estate. Including sentimental items in the memorandum prevents family disputes over ownership after death.

1. What A Personal Property Memorandum Can Do For Your Estate
Plan
When you make a will as part of your estate plan there is a portion that is reserved for specific
bequests or items that you want to give to a person. Instead of listing all of your personal property
one by one in your will there is a manner that will allow you to give items away to specific people in a
much easier way.
A Personal Property Memorandum that is available in most states is a document that is separate from
a will that is referenced in a will that allows the maker of the will to dispose of tangible personal
property in a matter and time they later wish. This means that when you make your will all you have
to say is that there will be a PPM and it will be acceptable. Tangible personal property is property that
you can touch such as household items as furniture, but not property with a title, such as a car, or
intangible physical items such as a stock certificate or cash. The Personal Property Memorandum
can be in your own handwriting or typed as long as it is signed and dated. You can change or update
the memorandum at any later time without the need of an attorney or notary public.
All household tangible property that a married couple own automatically pass to the surviving spouse
in some states, so it is only necessary to include items on the memorandum that would not go to the
spouse, such as a family heirloom to a child. For an unmarried person all household tangible property
would pass in the residuary of the will, or all assets not listed as a specific bequest in the will, so it
would only be necessary to name items not going to the person listed as the beneficiary of the
residuary under the will. You can gift items before you die, but after death items in the house cannot
be gifted unless as directed under the will or personal property memorandum. Just because an item
was designated verbally, such as a child should get my antique vase, has no effect unless it is
included in the will or memorandum. It is important to give away items that have a high sentimental
value to a specific person before you die or in a memorandum because these are the items that
cause the most family fights even when the items have a small monetary value.
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