Do not forget your collections in your estate plan.
Collecting is a passion for you.
Through it, you have come to possess a few treasures.
Whether these are intrinsically valuable or their worth is from personal sentiment, your collectables should be included in your estate plan.
According to a recent Forbes article titled “Astute Estate Planning For Art, Antiques And Valuable Collectibles,” personal property is approached differently than financial accounts and assets in estate planning.
How so?
Records.
Unlike a bank account, physical items can be misplaced or “lost.”
To avoid this, you should keep an inventory of your items as well as documentation of appraisals, receipts, and provenance records.
Disbursement.
It is easier for people to steal personal property.
In fact, when someone passes away such items seem to sprout legs and vamoose on their own to the back of an awaiting pickup truck or van!
For accountability, your executor and heirs should all have a complete inventory.
You should also include instructions regarding who is to receive various individual items or collections.
It may be wise to include photos, identifying descriptions, and serial numbers of them.
Security.
As previously mentioned theft is a real threat.
Home safes, safe deposit boxes, and alarms systems help protect assets.
Make sure your executor and trustee know the codes to access the safe places.
When it comes to safety deposit boxes, make sure your executor and trustee may access the contents when needed.
Accordingly, they will need to sign signature cards now to access the contents later.
Do this without delay.
Insurance is essential to protect your investment in your collectibles.
Documentation.
Be sure to have proof of authenticity of the item.
Keep detailed records of bills of sale, condition reports, photographs, artists’ notes, appraisals, and insurance reports.
This will be beneficial to protecting the history of the item for future generations.
Valuation.
The value of an item can change from time to time.
You may need to include a specialist to speak into the current fair price of the item.
Estate Tax Issues.
These assets are included in your estate and will need to be properly identified, appraised, and included on your estate tax return.
Collectibles can be easily overlooked in this process.
Take the time to specifically plan for these special items.
Reference: Forbes (April 8, 2019) “Astute Estate Planning For Art, Antiques And Valuable Collectibles”
