My collection in my will

[ocjack]

I may be older than the average collector on this site (71) and while I am in decent health, I decided to not burden my wife the problems associated with selling off a lifetime collection were something to happen to me unexpectedly.

I took it upon myself to sell off most of my collection a few years back. Regrets? As Frank would say, "I have a few." But in retrospect it was still the best thing to do. An additional consideration: while most individual cards were in bank safe-deposit boxes, most of my sets, etc were in my house (but not on display). Living in California these days means my house could go up in smoke along with my collection - because in an emergency, I'm grabbing my wife and my dog and heading for safety.

Good luck with your decision.

[insidethewrapper]

I believe if you sell while still alive you will owe taxes on the profit on any of the items. For example: you brought a set at $100 years ago and now it is $ 2000, the profit would be $ 1900. If your children received it after you died, it would transfer to them ( current market value) at a $ 2000 item and if they sold it for $2000 then no taxes. Therefore don't sell before you pass away unless you really need the money. Avoid taxes if you can.

[gonzo]

In addition to your will, you might want to type up a couple of pages describing the highlights of the collection to make sure they at least know which items are the most valuable without relying on the word of other folks who may have different priorities and/or may be tempted to exploit a lack of expertise.

Non-collectors might recognize a few famous names, but they’re not going to know why that “Doyle N.Y. NAT’L” or “Lowdermilk” or “Hoblitzell” or brown Old Mill back warrants special attention when it looks to them just like dozens of other cards in your collection.


Also consider how an auction house typically sells things versus what the most profitable way to sell those things might be. If you know that Auction House X typically sells cards like yours in large lots that go for noticeably less than they would sell individually, while Auction House Y would sell them individually, that might help determine the way to go.

[aljurgela]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

I believe if you sell while still alive you will owe taxes on the profit on any of the items. For example: you brought a set at $100 years ago and now it is $ 2000, the profit would be $ 1900. If your children received it after you died, it would transfer to them ( current market value) at a $ 2000 item and if they sold it for $2000 then no taxes. Therefore don't sell before you pass away unless you really need the money. Avoid taxes if you can.

and something that everyone should keep in mind... the "Step up in Basis" is still a very important part of the tax code.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by aljurgela

and something that everyone should keep in mind... the "Step up in Basis" is still a very important part of the tax code.

I was not aware of that. Than you both for the critically important info.