If you’re like a lot of people, you have inherited collections of things from your parents or grandparents – maybe things that were handed down to them. This could be pocket watches, coins, stamps, rare books, dolls and other toys and more.
If you’re about to put your estate plan in place, you’re likely determining who in your family would most appreciate these items. It’s always smart to give this careful consideration. Likely, you want to leave them to someone who will treasure them and not just try to sell them or even throw or give them away without knowing what they’re worth.
How can an accurate appraisal help you and your loved ones?
Whenever you’re including something in your estate plan that may potentially have significant financial value as well as sentimental value, it’s wise to get it appraised by a reputable collector or dealer. This can serve a number of purposes.
First, if it’s really worth some money, it’s important for the beneficiary to know so they can take proper care of it and perhaps adjust their insurance coverage as appropriate. It’s also smart to get a detailed, written, signed appraisal. This way, if your loved one does decide to sell an item, they’re less likely to be shortchanged by a less-than-reputable buyer.
Knowing the value can also help you determine how to best even out your assets among your heirs. If you’re leaving one grandchild a collection of rare books that’s worth many thousands of dollars, you likely want to leave your other grandchildren other assets of relatively equal value.
It’s not uncommon for someone to leave what they thought was a genuine Tiffany lamp, a valuable sculpture or a collection of dolls that they assumed were worth a lot of money to loved ones only for those loved ones to find out they’re worth virtually nothing monetarily. That doesn’t make them any less valuable for sentimental reasons. However, it benefits everyone to know their monetary value.
Dealing with these types of items can be among the trickiest parts of estate planning – sometimes even more so than retirement and investment accounts totaling in the millions of dollars. This is just one reason why having experienced estate planning guidance is worthwhile.
