You are not obligated to divide your estate equally between your heirs — even if they might expect you to do so. You should, however, consider explaining to your heirs what you intend to do when you decide to leave unequal inheritances.
Leaving your decisions unexplained, or only leaving an explanation in a document they won’t see till after you die, increases the opportunity that the inequality causes conflict. Death can come at any time, so it is wise to have this conversation sooner — rather than put it off for a better opportunity that may never come.
You are best placed to explain your motives
Let’s imagine you have two sons. They might assume you will just split what you own in half for them, or perhaps give a little away to a favorite charity and split the rest 50:50 between them. You may have exceptionally good reasons for not doing this. Perhaps one child needs more support because their disabilities or mental health issues mean they will likely never earn nearly as much as their sibling, and maybe not be able to survive without your financial help.
Or, maybe one son has married a wealthy heiress and lives a life of luxury, so you feel your comparatively smaller assets could benefit their sibling much more. Explaining your reasons to both your sons alleviates the chances of misunderstandings, suspicion or guilt over the matter that might otherwise plague their lives going forward.
If you suspect there may be disputes over an unequal inheritance anyway, it is worth learning more about some of the legal ways you can reduce the chance of legal challenges to your estate plan.