You spend your time and money collecting items. In fact, it’s your hobby and your way of life. What do you do for those collectibles if you pass away? Most people forget that these collectibles are, in fact, assets. In some cases, these are very valuable assets. Collectibles can be sold, traded or even given away. Their value may be hard to estimate, but once it is estimated, the Internal Revenue Service will expect its share of the goods.
There is an emotional value to consider with collectibles too. For example, if your family spent time collecting small Christmas village items. While they may not be worth millions, they have great sentimental value. You treasure them and it reminds you of family Christmas gatherings. You want these to be passed on through your family and not sold or traded.
Protecting Your Collectibles
When you draft your estate plan, make sure you let your estate planning attorney know about your collection. They can help you prepare a place in your will for who will receive those collectibles and your specific wishes regarding them. If you don’t want them sold or traded, then you’ll need to specify that in your will. You can also select an heir who will treasure those collectibles as much as you. Since they’re often a piece of your family’s legacy, consider placing collectibles in your family’s legacy plan.
Protecting your family collectibles can help preserve your family’s legacy. After all, these items are treasured and should be passed down to family members, rather than sold to strangers.
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