14 May
2004
14 May
'04
5 a.m.
I've been through several iterations of wills over the years, and I make an
effort to have an "addendum" or "attachment" that lists individual
items or
collections of items and the person that they are to go to. I have numerous
old things, some items that have been in the family for 155+ years (wedding
china from 1846, my great grandfather's violin/fiddle from around 1840,
old family pictures from the 1800s, my dad's toy trains from the 1930s, for
example), and I don't want certain things to get in the wrong hands and
end up at a yard sale, or portraits from 1875 ending up hanging on the
wall at Cracker Barrel as a nameless face from the past.
I will admit that I don't always keep my list up to date, but this is a good
way to do things and is perfectly legal, or so my lawyer friends tell me.
You can change the list as things in your life change. Just get rid of the
old list and attach the new one to all copies of the will.
Ashley
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jay West" <jwest(a)classiccmp.org>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 11:56 AM
Subject: Re: In Memoriam: Sipke de Wal (collection disposition)
Guy wrote...
are
Not to wander too far off topic and IANAL but
I'd suggest that *anyone*
who is worried about the fate of their collection (or anything in their
estate for that matter) talk to a lawyer and have their wishes recorded
in their will (you do have one?). That's what they're for.
I agree with what Guy is saying in principal... and there has to be
something in the official legal document of the will.
However here's the part I'm not so sure can be adressed that way. There
two problems I see with this. My wishes for the
collection may well change
frequently, and the collection itself may change frequently as to contents
through trades, midlife crisis's, wild hairs to get rid of stuff, or
suddenly pick up another listmembers entire collection, etc. So I think
the
exact wishes for disposal as well as what constitutes
"the collection"
will
change way too often, and who wants to update the
legal document that
frequently?
I was thinking that more than likely, the people I rub elbows on the list
with most frequently not only have the basic knowledge of what is worth
something and what isn't, and how to best dispose of it... but just
through
idle conversations/emails they are most likely to know
how I would have
wanted the collection to be dealt with. They would probably be the ones
most
likely to have "kept up with" my thoughts
and wishes. I certainly can't
tell
my wife (or lawyer) who know nothing about computers
and collection my
thoughts on each item. They'd be disinterested at the least just on the
basis of sheer volume.
So I am wondering if it wouldn't be best to list several specific
listmember
friends in the will as executors of anything computer
related, and that's
it
for the legal document. Then trust that said friends
will have the
compassion for the hobby to make the best decisions about the final
disposition of the collection. There may be one or two specific items in
the collection I have specific wishes for. Those can be part of the will.
But the bulk of it I couldn't begin to put specific wishes on each item.
That I think you just have to find a collector you trust to make the best
call. If you have a specific wish for the entire collection, that can
easily
be adressed in a will. But in my case, I don't
want the entire collection
going to one place, I want it broken up to as many people as possible.
That
makes a simple line item in the will pretty
unfeasible.
Regards,
Jay West
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