Some types of assets are difficult to sell or to distribute to the beneficiaries when settling a decedent’s probate or trust estate.

Recognizing such assets and considering the foreseeable difficulties may prompt action during the owner’s life and avoid leaving problems behind. Let us discuss some scenarios.

Timeshares are notoriously difficult to sell or to surrender and cease paying the maintenance fees. Leaving time shares in one’s estate may be a dubious gift to one’s loved ones unless perhaps some beneficiary actually wants to receive it.

That said, a timeshare owner may choose to address the difficulty by calling the company to discuss how to leave the timeshare to a specific beneficiary or how to sell or surrender it now or after one’s death. The answers vary depending on the timeshare involved.

Fractional ownership in real property is another difficult asset to sell as it requires the cooperation of the co-owners. Typically, the only interested buyers are the other co-owners.

Moreover, it is impossible to borrow against a fractional interest of real property because the lender cannot foreclose on only a partial interest. Otherwise, a court partition action to force a sale of the real property is necessary. It may, therefore, be wise to address this issue while alive.

Stock shares held in certificate form are increasingly rare but some stock certificates that were issued years ago remain. These certificates are title documents and must be safeguarded.

Replacing lost certificates takes time and money. Moreover, selling certificated shares often involves the additional step of using a transfer agent to retitle the certificates into a brokerage account to sell the shares.

Thus, it is wise for the owner to transfer all certificated shares (stocks) into brokerage shares while alive. The brokerage account can then be titled in the owner’s living trust or be titled as a transfer on death account, each avoids probate.

Gold and silver coins or bars can be misplaced, lost or stolen. Sometimes these assets are kept in storage or in a hiding place (e.g., buried). The person administering the estate may not know whether they still exist and if so where or how to find them.

Storing the gold or silver in a bank deposit (and making sure the necessary persons know the account) or else selling the gold and silver while alive and investing the proceeds may avoid costly mishaps. One can buy shares in companies that invest in precious metals to avoid the risks of direct ownership.

Probably one of the biggest headaches now in settling a decedent’s estate is owning cryptocurrency – i.e., a portion of a block chain asset like “Bitcoin” — for a variety of reasons.

First, cryptocurrency is highly speculative (i.e., value fluctuations are wild). Such volatility usually makes cryptocurrency an unacceptable asset for a successor trustee or an executor of a decedent’s estate to hold.

Second, so-called, “cryptocurrency keys” are essential to owning, controlling and selling the intangible assets. The keys can easily be lost and when lost cannot be recovered. Like investing in gold and silver, it is possible to buy shares in a company that invests in cryptocurrency and so avoid the risks of a cryptocurrency key.

Sole proprietorships, especially those that require licenses (e.g., a law or medical practice), are very difficult, time consuming, and often fraught with risk for the person settling the deceased owner’s estate.

Succession planning involves placing the sole proprietorship into a legal entity (such as an LLC or corporation) and then legally nominating, or providing authority for nominating, qualified replacements to step in and manage the business should the principal (owner) unexpectedly become incapacitated or die.

Otherwise, emergency probate court proceedings and frantic efforts to find suitable persons become necessary at the worst of times and do not guarantee saving the business.

Some problems are foreseeable. No one plans to fail but people do fail to plan. Why take unnecessary risks?

The foregoing discussion is not legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney for guidance.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.