When you start working on your estate plan, you’ll likely focus on the traditional assets like bank, retirement and investment accounts and your properties. Of course, developing an advanced directive for your health care and choosing executors, trustees and those who will have powers of attorney is also crucial.
What about other valued possessions like your “good” china and silverware? These may have been handed down to you from your parents or in-laws or you may have received them as gifts when you were married.
While they might have great sentimental value to you, these things don’t mean as much to younger generations. They may also have nowhere to store them. Before you include these possessions in your will, make sure the person you’re leaving them to really wants them.
Should you pass on your various collections?
The same is true for any collections you might have. Many people have long-cultivated collections of coins, baseball cards, model trains, dolls, figurines and more. You may have always intended to hand these things down to your children. But do they want them?
If neither your children nor anyone else in your family wants these things, they might still appreciate the money they could be worth. If these items have some real monetary value, you can look for places to sell them, like online bidding sites and local dealers.
What can you do with these items if your children don’t want them?
If it turns out they aren’t worth what you thought, you might want to consider giving them away. If you’re not ready to part with them yet, you can leave them in your will to a local charity.
Many people simply direct that their assets be sold after they’re gone, with the proceeds going to the estate and being divided among their heirs as detailed in their estate plan. This can provide valuable financial security to your loved ones after you’re gone.
