Collectibles and Your Inheritance Plan

For a lot of people in Florida, acquiring just the right collectible can be a rewarding pastime. Collections can range from the small to the extensive, highly valuable, or even the historically important. But what happens to your collectibles after you are gone? How do you address collectibles issues through your estate and inheritance plan? What kinds of issues do you have to consider when developing your plan?

Today we thought we would talk about collectibles in estate and inheritance plans in Florida, and what people with collections might have to think about.

Collectibles and Your Inheritance Plan. Establishing Value

One of the first, and often most difficult, issues to deal with when you have a collection of valuable items is determining value. The collectibles market can be as volatile as any other, and prices can fluctuate drastically. For example, while Beanie Babies and Longaberger baskets fetched high prices in the 90s, the market for these collectibles has since crashed.

On the other hand, a lot of people who had older manual typewriters were getting rid of their useless pieces of technology in the 90s because personal computers had come to dominate the marketplace. Now, there’s a growing interest in vintage and antique typewriters, particularly amongst millennials. Machines that couldn’t be given away in the 90s can now sell for hundreds of dollars each.

So, while determining the current value of your collection might be relatively easy, predicting future value is much harder. If you are planning on giving away your collectibles as inheritances, you may need to reassess your inheritance choices in light of any value changes.

Collectibles and Your Inheritance Plan. Desirability

Building a collection is a process, and one that collectors love. Researching your collection, finding new sources, finding the right piece, and lovingly displaying or even restoring your items is a rewarding experience. But what if your loved ones don’t share your passions? Even though you might love your collection, that doesn’t mean anyone else does. When it comes time to distribute your collectibles as inheritances, will any even want it?

In situations where your collection may not be as desirable to your family and loved as it is to you, you’ll probably want to consider options other than leaving individual pieces, or multiple pieces, as inheritances. You might instead, for example, offer each family member the ability to keep one item as a sentimental object, while directing your estate administrator to liquidate the rest of the collection and distribute the proceeds.

Alternatively, you might choose to start selling your collection now. A lot of collector find that they take pleasure in knowing that they sell their possessions to like-minded people who will cherish their objects as they did.