No matter how much you love your collection of Star Wars memorabilia, your executor could pack it up and take it to a donation center unless you make it part of your estate plan. In the article "That baseball card collection? You need an estate plan for it,” USA Today explains what to do to ensure your collection doesn’t vanish soon after your death.
If you don’t have a will, don’t expect your collection to outlast you. Here’s what you need to do to protect your collection:
Document the collection. It doesn’t matter if your collection has sentimental or financial value. Make a detailed record of what you have and what it might be worth. Use a cell phone camera and a spreadsheet or a file folder. Include a description of everything in the collection, how you obtained it, why you believe it’s valuable, what you paid for it, including receipts and what it might be worth today. If you can’t manage a spreadsheet, then take photos or a video.
While you’re documenting your collection, it’s a good time to take videos of every room in the house. If there’s a disaster, you’ll have a record of everything in your home to show the insurance company.
If your collection is of any monetary value, you’ll need to be sure it’s insured. Don’t make the mistake of thinking homeowners’ insurance will cover it. These policies vary widely and may not include your collection. You may want to take out a valuable items policy to cover jewelry, musical instruments and other kinds of collections. Before issuing the additional coverage, the insurance company may ask you to document your collection, and have it appraised.
A professional appraisal could get expensive. However, if you own high-value artwork or if your collection is more than two boxes of Beanie Babies, having the collection appraised will help with insurance coverage. An appraisal will also help with estate planning.
To avoid your collection ending up in a donations bin, take the time to educate your heirs about your collection and its value. Tell them where you keep it, what it’s worth and where to find documentation about its value and provenance. If they aren’t interested in keeping it, then you can either find a dealer or auction house to take it while you are living or give your heirs information about where they should sell it.
Depending on the value of your collection, you may want to secure it by including it in a trust. Trusts allow you to give very specific directions on where the collection should go. You might want to give half of your wine cellar to one kid and the other half to a niece, for instance. The important thing is to include your collection and any personal property with sentimental value in your estate plan, so your heirs are clear about your intentions.
An estate planning attorney can help you create an estate plan, including your collectables and various personal items, to make sure your wishes are known and followed. Families fight over the most minor details when grieving. You can prevent any squabbles by creating an estate plan with clear directions, which is a gift in and of itself to your loved ones.
Legacy One Law Firm, APLC is an estate planning and probate administration law firm in Los Angeles, California, serving families throughout the State. Schedule a quick and easy consultation with our estate planning attorney, Sedric E. Collins, Esq., or call 323-900-5450.
