A Cautionary Tale – Getting your affairs in order before passing on

[oldjudge]

Bob--How do you document 100k+ cards? You really can't. The best thing might be just a note that says--if you want to dispose of this collection know that it was worth roughly $____ on ____. Please call ____ auction house and tell them you will consign it if they offer you ___ % of the buyers commission and no costs whatsoever to you. If they say yes--great. If they say no, call ____ auction house (provide a list of three or four).

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

Bob--How do you document 100k+ cards? You really can't. The best thing might be just a note that says--if you want to dispose of this collection know that it was worth roughly $____ on ____. Please call ____ auction house and tell them you will consign it if they offer you ___ % of the buyers commission and no costs whatsoever to you. If they say yes--great. If they say no, call ____ auction house (provide a list of three or four).

True, but the auction house will want some kind of information besides I have a room full of cards that my husband said are worth $100k.

[Jewish-collector]

One of the biggest issues is choosing WHICH auction house to use.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

One of the biggest issues is choosing WHICH auction house to use.

If you have a triple or quadruple logoman patch card, I believe the choice is clear.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by obcbobd

True, but the auction house will want some kind of information besides I have a room full of cards that my husband said are worth $100k.

not really hard..you take some pictures and send them to them..

[parkplace33]

Great feedback/info on this post.

For me, this is the most important item:

Talk to your heirs about your wishes and also ask them about their wishes

I believe too often, collectors love their collections but the heirs don’t. Have a conversation about what both want and come up with a way forward.

[rdwyer]

A friend of mine who had a card/coin/stamp shop recently passed. He stated he had over $100k in coins alone in the shop, nevermind expensive cards and who knows what in stamps. I've seen many of the cards and sets he had. (Mint 62 topps set, Mint 55 Topps All American FB set, etc). Anyway, he never had a will made. Now Family and previous wives are fighting tooth and nail in probate now. Real nasty stuff.

[obcbobd]

Originally Posted by 1952boyntoncollector

not really hard..you take some pictures and send them to them..

Well you need to know what to take pictures of and whom to send it to. A little upfront planning can make all the difference

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by obcbobd

Well you need to know what to take pictures of and whom to send it to. A little upfront planning can make all the difference

Agreed Bob,
I have an excel spread sheet of all my cards and their acquisition price, scans on my computer in a folder, and a Flickr account to put it all together. My Trust simply says my kids inherit the asset to do what they want with it. I'll print out an updated spreadsheet occasionally and add it to the hard cases that hold the cards for convenience in case my computer fails, I still need to put a contact list of trusty AH names and contacts in with the collection.

[Hankphenom]

At the very least, leave a note with the cards giving the phone number or email of a trusted hobby friend, dealer, or auction house to call for help turning the collection into cash.

[ClementeFanOh]

It'll be a blast to get a virtual beating from another group on another topic...

I am with obcbobc completely, based on my own hobby tendencies. I've
spent 40 years acquiring a collection (and knowledge, although some of you
would question the extent of it, and it would be counterproductive and
incongruous to leave my closest loved ones with a task they are not suited
to handle. At the very least (and I mean barest minimum), a veteran
collector with valuable cards could take one hour(!) to write a note listing a)
the most valuable items and values b) a preferred auction house and c) a
trusted hobbyist to guide them. Given the enormous amount of time I have
spent acquiring the collection, a minimal effort to point uninitiated
dependents in the right direction seems wise. It sure sounds better than a
final note that essentially reads, "You figure it out!"


Trent King

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by obcbobd

Well you need to know what to take pictures of and whom to send it to. A little upfront planning can make all the difference

im sure the auction house would assist them in what other pictures to take to the extent of whether its worth it to send someone over etc.

[cubman1941]

Interesting points across the topic. I face the same dilemma. I have been collecting for over 40 years and, while my collection is not super valuable, I needed to figure out something as my wife knows nothing about cards, memorabilia and value and doesn't care. My kids are collectors so could help, however, they live a thousand miles away and would have a hard time helping. My stepson is executer of our will since he is close buy but also has no knowledge of cards, etc. I have everything on Excel spread sheets broken down by year from 1887 to present. I have done the same with the unopened boxes I have. What I have done is to contact an auction house on this site and asked if they would auction it all off. I asked this because many auction houses will not fool with commons and I don't blame them. I got a positive response so printed off the question and reply and put one copy with the will and one in the room I have most of the cards and memorabilia.

[Johnny630]

Unless you have a son or sons whom love the cards and hobby as much as we do I 100% believe it’s better to Leave your family wealth not cards. By wealth I mean equities, real estate, and cash.



If your sons love the cards, slowly give them some cards as you get older. To me it makes me happier as I grown older to give then receive. I have more enjoyment seeing my kids happy then clutching the cards forever.

[ClementeFanOh]

Johnny630- there are people who are fortunate enough to leave their loved
ones many of those things (equities, real estate, cash). The topic isn't what
YOU think other people should leave their loved ones, it pertains to best
practice for people who have already decided (!!) that they are leaving
loved ones cards or other memorabilia. Anyone who reads your posts knows
that you have a very high opinion of your own financial advice. The problem
is that your advice often skips the nature of the actual hobby itself- which
is precisely what happened in this case. The question is, to what extent
should a collector prep his loved ones to receive collectibles upon the death
of the collector? It's not that difficult, and was the subject of every single
post in the thread until yours.

Short version- stay on topic.

Trent King

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Unless you have a son or sons whom love the cards and hobby as much as we do I 100% believe it’s better to Leave your family wealth not cards. By wealth I mean equities, real estate, and cash.



If your sons love the cards, slowly give them some cards as you get older. To me it makes me happier as I grown older to give then receive. I have more enjoyment seeing my kids happy then clutching the cards forever.

You may give your sons (or daughters) some of your cards to hold and enjoy as you get older, but I wouldn't formally gift the cards to them. I would be sure to retain ownership of them in my name until passing, and then specifically be sure to have named my collection as going to one or more of them as heirs in a will. Reason being that for now, under current estate tax law, anything a person leaves to their heirs in passing gets a "step-up" in tax basis to the inherited item's current fair market value as of the date a person passes away.

If you give/gift cards to your children while you're still living, the tax basis of those cards in their hands is a "carryover" basis equal to your tax basis (ie.:what you originally paid to acquire the cards and get/keep them in their condition at the time of your gift). Depending on how long ago someone acquired their cards, and what was originally paid for them, waiting to formally transfer ownership of them to your children as part of your estate could end up saving your kids a lot of tax should they ever sell some your collection down the road then.

Also, if you gift your cards to your kids while you're still vertical, you technically need to be able to give them your tax basis in each and every card so they know what it is should they ever go to then sell one or more of them. Waiting to let them inherit the cards can remove the burden and issues from not having kept complete and accurate records of all your card's tax basis'.

And I know how many in the hobby look to get around paying income and sales taxes on their cards when they do sell them, every chance they get. Even if it basically means committing tax fraud/evasion by not properly reporting taxable card sales when they occur. Well, here's one technically legal way to possibly get around a big tax hit for a collector who goes to sell off their collection. If you have a significantly older, close relative, most likely a parent, formally gift them your card collection. You can technically still keep and maintain the cards for your elderly relative, as their custodian so to speak. But then also have your elderly relative include in his/her will that upon their passing the card collection goes to you. In that instance you get a "step-up" in the collection's tax basis to its' fair market value on the day your relative passes. You can use your lifetime estate/gift tax exclusion amount, along with your annual gift tax exemption amount, to transfer your collection into your elderly relative's name with likely no tax consequences.

Does require a little work and effort, and their could be unforeseen consequences as the collection for a time is then legally part of your relative's assets/estate. But technically a legal way to possibly get around paying some taxes on the sale of one's collection.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Johnny630

Unless you have a son or sons whom love the cards and hobby as much as we do I 100% believe it’s better to Leave your family wealth not cards. By wealth I mean equities, real estate, and cash.



If your sons love the cards, slowly give them some cards as you get older. To me it makes me happier as I grown older to give then receive. I have more enjoyment seeing my kids happy then clutching the cards forever.

By the way, don't let any juvenile, sarcastic trolls put you down for your opinions and comments. I took your post to imply you are suggesting that, where possible, a collector in really looking out for his/her family might do better to dispose of their collection before they pass. And that way they can leave them cash or other equity assets, and not the burden of dealing with a card collection they may know little, if anything, about. In this regard, your post is most definitely on topic as part of this thread. In fact, I would further suggest that a post attacking your comments is in reality the one true post in this thread that is off topic. Pot calling the kettle black, so to speak. Except in this case, your attacker's accusation of you was wrong to begin with.