Dividing an estate · calculator

Who gets what, and who pays whom.

The sealed-bids method, worked out for you. Each person writes what every item is worth to them. Each item goes to whoever values it most, and the cash evens it out so everyone ends up with at least their fair share. Change any number and watch the result move.

The things
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Each person writes what each thing is worth to them, in dollars. The highlighted number wins it.

Who gets what

  • The pianoAnna$4,000
  • Mom's ringBen$2,500
  • The truckBen$6,000
  • The dining tableChris$800
  • The photo albumsChris$1,500

The money that evens it out

  • Annareceives $556

    Gets The piano. Their bids total $8,700, so their fair share is $2,900. The items they get are worth $4,000 to them, so they put $1,100 in the pot, and they get $1,656 of what is left over.

  • Benpays $3,178

    Gets Mom's ring, The truck. Their bids total $11,000, so their fair share is $3,667. The items they get are worth $8,500 to them, so they put $4,833 in the pot, and they get $1,656 of what is left over.

  • Chrisreceives $2,622

    Gets The dining table, The photo albums. Their bids total $9,800, so their fair share is $3,267. The items they get are worth $2,300 to them, so the pot owes them $967, and they get $1,656 of what is left over.

The pot ends with $4,967 left over, split 3 ways. In the end $3,178 changes hands, and everyone ends up with at least their fair share by their own numbers.

Do it for real, with sealed bids

Nothing is stored. The link in your address bar carries the whole table, so you can send it to a sibling.

How the sealed-bids method works

Three siblings, Anna, Ben and Chris, have five things to divide: the piano, their mother's ring, the truck, the dining table and the photo albums. Nothing can be cut in three, and nobody wants to sell the lot and split the cash. The example loaded above is this family.

  1. 1. Everyone bids in private. Each person writes down what every item is worth to them. These are honest valuations, so there is no point bluffing: bid high and you might win the item and pay for it. Anna puts $4,000 on the piano; Ben, who has nowhere to put a piano, puts $1,000.
  2. 2. Each item goes to the highest bid. Anna gets the piano. Ben gets the ring and the truck. Chris gets the table and the albums.
  3. 3. Work out each person's fair share.Add up all of a person's own bids and divide by the number of people. Anna's bids total $8,700, so a third of everything, by her own numbers, is $2,900. That is what she is owed.
  4. 4. Settle up. Anna received the piano, which she valued at $4,000, which is $1,100 more than her fair share, so she puts $1,100 in the pot. Ben received $8,500 of things against a fair share of $3,667, so he puts in $4,833. Chris received $2,300 against a fair share of $3,267, so the pot pays him $967.
  5. 5. Split what is left. The pot took in $5,933 and paid out $967, so $4,967 is left over. Split three ways, each gets $1,656. In the end Ben pays $3,178, Anna receives $556 and Chris receives $2,622.

Every person ends up with their fair share plus a slice of the leftovers, measured by their own valuations. Anna wanted the piano and got it, plus cash. Chris got the things he cared about and the most cash. Ben got the truck and the ring, and paid the others for them at prices he set himself. Nobody drew straws, nobody took turns, and nobody had to say the ring mattered more to them than it did to their sister.

Dollars or points?

Dollars give the fairest result, because the cash settles any imbalance. They also need cash, or an estate account to net the payments against, and some families would rather not put a price on their mother's ring. Points fix that: everyone gets the same budget, say 100, spends it across the items, and each goes to whoever put the most on it. No money moves. The cost is that a person who wins nothing gets nothing, so points work best when there are many items and people want different things.

Doing it for real

The method only works if the bids are sealed. On this page everyone can see the table, which is fine for learning the method or for an executor who collected bids on paper. For the real thing, RealBid gives each person a private link, keeps every bid sealed until the deadline, runs this same math, and emails everyone the result. Nobody, including the person who set it up, ever sees anyone else's numbers.

Set up a private divisionHow the private version works

Questions

What is the sealed-bids method?
A way to divide things that can't be split, invented by Bronisław Knaster in 1945. Each person privately writes what every item is worth to them. Each item goes to the highest bidder. Each person's fair share is their share of their own total. Whoever got more than their fair share pays the difference into a pot, whoever got less is paid from it, and the leftover pot is split evenly. Everyone ends up with at least their fair share, by their own numbers.
Why does everyone come out ahead?
Because each item goes to the person who valued it most, the pot always has money left over after the first round of payments. That leftover is split evenly, so every person receives their fair share plus a bonus, measured by what they themselves said things were worth.
What if one sibling is wealthier and can outbid everyone?
They can take more items, but they pay the others for them in cash at the prices they themselves set. If the family would rather no money changed hands at all, switch to points: everyone gets the same budget and the richest sibling has no advantage.
What do we do with the cash payments?
Usually they are netted against the estate's financial assets, so nobody writes a check: the executor adjusts each person's share of the account balance by the amount shown. Ask the estate's attorney or accountant before doing this.
What if the will gives someone a larger share?
Tick 'Unequal shares' and enter each person's percentage. Fair shares and the leftover pot are then split in those proportions.
What about items nobody bids on?
They are listed as unclaimed, for the executor to sell or donate. The proceeds go into the estate as usual.
Can people see each other's bids here?
Yes. This page is for working the math out in the open, or for an executor who has collected bids on paper. For a real division where nobody should see anyone else's numbers, use the private version: each person gets their own sealed link and only the result is shared.

This is a fair way to decide who gets what. It is not legal advice; for anything the will or the law dictates, talk to the estate's attorney. Read more in how to divide a parent's belongings among siblings without a fight.