Should I Nominate My Children To Serve Jointly As Personal Representatives or Attorneys-in-Fact?

Probably not.

When two people serving as co-personal representatives or co-attorneys-in-fact cannot agree on a course of action, they are deadlocked.  They may require court action to resolve the disputed issue.

Most clients, in seeking to appoint co-nominees, seek to avoid intra-family conflicts.  In my experience, if intra-family conflicts upon your death or incapacity hover on the horizon, then the worst thing one can do is force these two relatives to cooperate on emotionally volatile subjects, as they must when serving jointly.  Making co-nominees increases, not decreases conflicts.  Avoid it.  Nominate your trusted loved ones serially, not jointly. 

Brad Lancaster works as a Seattle divorce attorney, and Seattle probate attorney, and Seattle elder law attorney, serving King County and Snohomish County, including Seattle, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Edmonds, Woodway, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Alderwood, Brier, Kenmore, Woodinville, Mukilteo, Mill Creek, and Everett. Brad provides collaborative solutions to human conflict.