Preparing Your Collection For Your Death

[bn2cardz]

I am 31 and in perfect health so if I die now it would be a surprise, but since it can happen I have given some instructions to my wife. These instructions will have to be adapted as life changes but right now this is what I have told her.

I told her that if I die that she can do as she wishes with the baseball stuff. Don't feel guilty for selling anything or keeping anything. Yet if she goes to sell it I told her to come to this site (she knows my credentials, but if she doesn't remember she can sign up). I told her there are a few people that aren't very helpful but as a whole the community is a good place to garner info. I told her if she isn't sure about someone to seek out the owner (Leon) as he seems honest. I also explained that, though I have never cosigned to them, Leon does have an auction house so it may be simple enough just to send to him. Yet if she wanted to do more research there were other auction houses that advertise here that all seem equally good. I added that if she needed to sell quickly, Sterling is a good monthly auction house and they, too, advertise here.

So I just gave her general info on where to go and whom to talk to. Yet as time goes on I may be more specific. My dad and I use to do shows so I also know that if my wife and I go at the same time he will know enough to be able to figure out what to do with the collection.

[Leon]

I might add, if I can ever be of any help in helping out a family left with cards, it would be my honor. I promise I would go overboard on helping and no, it might not be my auction house that is best. I would even help them negotiate the best deal for the situation. But more importantly I hope I never have to do that as it would be a sad time.

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by Leon

I might add, if I can ever be of any help in helping out a family left with cards, it would be my honor. I promise I would go overboard on helping and no, it might not be my auction house that is best. I would even help them negotiate the best deal for the situation. But more importantly I hope I never have to do that as it would be a sad time.

When I landed on this board nearly two years ago, the first thread that caught my eye was along these same lines. The consensus was then, as it is now, to prepare an escape strategy for our survivors if we don't sell off our collectors while we can. After spending this time here, there are a few things that I am sure of....

1. This community is ever-changing. We have all seen the posts announcing the passing of long time hobbyists. We have all seen the posts from the proud Poppas showing their tykes and their first baseball card pacifiers. A good number of us spend as much if not more time interacting with friends here than people in our everyday lives.

2. The knowledge here is endless. Any collection could be evaluated and/or appraised. (Anything we do not know, we could easily fake.) We certainly have enough active board members to be close enough to anywhere to get a qualified eyeball on any collection.

3. There are enough collectors here to absorb most any collection.

4. What could not be absorbed could certainly be addressed on the BST or the Bay. We also have a number of auction house folks here led by our fearless leader, Leon.

5. This would be a grand undertaking. In reality, it is not likely to be accomplished free-of-charge but we could likely do it for the second cousin rate.

I don't know how serious I am. I am generally so silly that even I don't know when I am being serious. I don't know if it COULD be done but we sure could do as good a job of it as any other group of collectors in the hobby. Damn, we are good.!

[rainier2004]

My Dad is also in the hobby and he would be in charge of the collection. I have complete inventory list with scans and a value list kept on my hard drive that is updated with any additions/subtractions as they happen and both he and my wife are aware of. LOTG would be getting a rather large consignment and I've told my wife to sell it all and use the cash for whatever...no kids yet but I would hate the idea of my wife holding onto the cards to "remember me".

[frankbmd]

For $29.95 I will provide you with a copy of my fool proof Collection Inventory System. After 13 years of inputting data you will then have the following information at your (or your heir's) fingertips.

Scans of all your cards.
Where the card is stored.
When you bought them.
What you paid.
What is their condition or grade.
What the certification number is.
What is on the back.
What is the ACC designation.
What is the value of your collection.
What cards are duplicates.
Which cards are Hall of Famers.
What your Auction House purchases were.
What is a Southern Leaguer.
What is an Obak.
What is a Goudey, etc
What you have already sold or traded.
Whom you have traded with and sold to.
And numerous other tidbits of trivia about your stash.

And if you buy today I will throw in a copy of the Monster Number Master List.

Frankly it is sometimes a pain in the neck to keep this maintained and accurate, but knowing what you have, where it is, etc in a few seconds makes it all worthwhile for me. Though sometimes I wonder if my hobby is really cards or spreadsheets.

My wife's tutorial on this system has yet to commence and that may take another 13 years.

[ocjack]

I"m 67 and in good health. But I am 67. So I decided to take it upon myself to sell my entire collection in order to not burden my wife with having to deal with it.

Giving your spouse the names of one or even a few people you feel you could trust to help her in the event of an untimely departure does help to alleviate the burden a little. I appreciate Leon's offer to help. That's a huge responsibility to be willing to undertake (no pun intended) for someone.

Regardless, it's best to plan as early as possible.

[almostdone]

I am 42 with 4 children and none have shown any interest in my collection. My only son, who is about to be 18, says he wants one specific card of mine to remember me by. I'm not so sure of the coincidence but it happens to be the most valuable card I own (1933 Delong Lou Gerhig). While I appreciate his desire to remember me through a card I told him my 89 Upper a Deck Griffey could do the same. The sale of my collection, including the Gerhig, would be more beneficial to my family than holding on to it.
I have instructed my wife to get in touch with one of three people I trust to help sell my collection. The first is a fellow board member and a very dear friend of mine whom I trust completely. His collecting habits are almost identical to mine and I know he would do anything to help out in any way possible. The second is Leon because he has way more contacts in the hobby that I could ever dream of and I know he would do his best to help out my family in their time of grieving. The third is a dealer that I sold a large part of my prewar collection to and treated me fairly and with great respect to me and my collection. I think between the three of these men my family would get the best value considering the situation and be able to move on.
Drew

[Fred]

It's getting buried with me in an unmarked grave... or it's going to be a gooey mess of plastic and ash if I'm cremated.... would it considered littering if the blob of plastic and ash was thrown into the ocean... dumb question, the fact that it would be my ashes, it'd be considered dumping garbage in the ocean...

[ALR-bishop]

I have shown my wife a picture of Alan Rosen and told her if he shows up on the front porch with a hand full of one hundred dollar bills after I am gone, to let the dogs out

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

I have shown my wife a picture of Alan Rosen and told her if he shows up on the front porch with a hand full of one hundred dollar bills after I am gone, to let the dogs out

NICE! I have told my wife something VERY similar!

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Though sometimes I wonder if my hobby is really cards or spreadsheets.

My wife's tutorial on this system has yet to commence and that may take another 13 years.

+1

Thankfully, I have just about everything nicely documented on a spreadsheet...although it would probably require a real collector to understand my system!! I don't think my wife qualifies as a "real collector". What she knows comes from small tidbits of info I share w/ her on very long car rides...

I just asked her what she would do if I were to pass suddenly, and she shockingly gave me a proper response. She knows to go to one of my long-time hobby friends (and one who shares a common interest in the cards I now own).

This thread should be a constant reminder to us all to "trim the fat"...in the waist-lines and in our personal collections!!

[Ladder7]

Be a miserable SOB, and you'll live forever. Just that everyone around you will wish you would just croak already.

[Klrdds]

This is a topic that I have thought long and hard about. I am 54 and hope to hang on to my collection until 70 - 75 years old unless something happens. The situation for me is the estimated value of my collection , well in excess of 200k ( book and retail value, but less as we all know in the real world market) and the sheer volume of it... over 200, 000 cards, 500 signed baseballs, 500+ autographed photos, plus game worn jerseys, bases, etc, plus near 1,000 other autographs. The inventorying of it is voluminous, and the value can fluctuate as the stock market for many items. I have in my will a listing of dealers whom I trust and have dealt with and to contact if I go to that ballpark in the sky before my time, but it is also delineated by category of item( cards, jerseys , and autographs) as well as by classification ( rare vs common, 1800s vs 1980s , etc) with recommendations on who to use for each category/ sub-category. I have 1 person to help my family, who are clueless about the values and background of items , and the inner dealings / mechanics of this hobby, who will aid them in the organizational tasks. As you can see it is a potential logistical nightmare for such a valuable and yet small part of an estate, because the knowledge is held within such a small scope of people.
As if this weren't enough there are tax issues, capital gains, to deal with also for the seller, if living, or the estate , if the collector is deceased . It seems unlikely that a full collection could be handled strictly on a cash basis whether the seller is living or deceased, thereby trying to avoid the IRS and estate taxes.
Thank goodness my best friend is one of the top estate planning attorneys in the US and he has given me very good advice on this topic.
Sorry to have rambled on but this is a topic I have thought about and researched a lot.

[bbcard1]

The old saying goes, one of my greatest fears is that my wife would sell my cards for what I told her I paid for them....

A former business partner of mine passed from lymphoma and I spend a couple of years disposing of his collection. I think I did ok. I suspect it was a retail or $100k and I probably got $60k out of it after expenses, which was a very nice start to a college fund for his daughter. it was very hard work. I loved my partner and his family though and I was glad to do it. I also got to meet some great people like Ted Z through the process. That said, I don't have any great candidates who would do the same for me.

My son knows some about the cards...probably enough not to get fleeced. I have old friends like Rand Bailey who could be called on to help. I also have a pretty good insurance policy that should more than take care of things (I am a partner in a business) and while I would certainly hope to get a good amount from my collection, it is not a critical part of my "exit strategy."

All that said, I am thinking of thinning the herd. This begs a few questions...what would I do with the money that would make a difference in my life and that I would enjoy more than the cards? We live simply and my home is paid for. I drive a car that is paid for and I like. Money in the bank doesn't grow...and I don't need another hobby. I have an income that is sufficient to allow me to give to the causes that are important to me...so I have some thinking to do.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

The old saying goes, one of my greatest fears is that my wife would sell my cards for what I told her I paid for them....

Love this quote!!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by bbcard1

The old saying goes, one of my greatest fears is that my wife would sell my cards for what I told her I paid for them....

A former business partner of mine passed from lymphoma and I spend a couple of years disposing of his collection. I think I did ok. I suspect it was a retail or $100k and I probably got $60k out of it after expenses, which was a very nice start to a college fund for his daughter. it was very hard work. I loved my partner and his family though and I was glad to do it. I also got to meet some great people like Ted Z through the process. That said, I don't have any great candidates who would do the same for me.

My son knows some about the cards...probably enough not to get fleeced. I have old friends like Rand Bailey who could be called on to help. I also have a pretty good insurance policy that should more than take care of things (I am a partner in a business) and while I would certainly hope to get a good amount from my collection, it is not a critical part of my "exit strategy."

All that said, I am thinking of thinning the herd. This begs a few questions...what would I do with the money that would make a difference in my life and that I would enjoy more than the cards? We live simply and my home is paid for. I drive a car that is paid for and I like. Money in the bank doesn't grow...and I don't need another hobby. I have an income that is sufficient to allow me to give to the causes that are important to me...so I have some thinking to do.

Todd, sounds like you are not in a bad place. If I were you I would consider "holding what I have" for a while.

[JasonL]

nevermind...

[WillowGrove]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

For $29.95 I will provide you with a copy of my fool proof Collection Inventory System. After 13 years of inputting data you will then have the following information at your (or your heir's) fingertips.

Scans of all your cards.
Where the card is stored.
When you bought them.
What you paid.
What is their condition or grade.
What the certification number is.
What is on the back.
What is the ACC designation.
What is the value of your collection.
What cards are duplicates.
Which cards are Hall of Famers.
What your Auction House purchases were.
What is a Southern Leaguer.
What is an Obak.
What is a Goudey, etc
What you have already sold or traded.
Whom you have traded with and sold to.
And numerous other tidbits of trivia about your stash.

And if you buy today I will throw in a copy of the Monster Number Master List.

Frankly it is sometimes a pain in the neck to keep this maintained and accurate, but knowing what you have, where it is, etc in a few seconds makes it all worthwhile for me. Though sometimes I wonder if my hobby is really cards or spreadsheets.

My wife's tutorial on this system has yet to commence and that may take another 13 years.

Another winner Frank!