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Dividing Inheritance

What does halacha dictate regarding dividing material possessions (valuables like coins, gold silver jewelery, etc) among siblings after the death of the parent? I want to do this in a way that is peaceful and not destructive to sibling relationships.

Thank you.

Answer:

When a father dies the laws of inheritance dictated by the Torah are that the firstborn son [through a natural birth] gets a double potion, the rest is divided equally among the other sons. Daughters do not receive inheritance when there are sons.

While this is the basic Torah guideline, many prefer to write a will in order to equally distribute their possessions among all children equally. This should be done with a Rabbi who can help prepare a halachic will which will not be in conflict with Torah law. Even in the event there is no halachic will or no will at all, often the siblings are willing to split evenly as they often understand that to have been the desire of the parent. As you mentioned these situations tend to be sensitive and a Rav who is close to the children should be contacted to help guide through the process in a way that will keep the peace.

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