Are you the collector in your family?
Is a family relative a collector, and you’re living in dread that the collection will end up on your door step one day?
Having an exit strategy and/or a succession plan for a prized collection is a great strategy for families and collectors alike. Living in hope that the family will know what to do with your collection when you’ve passed away isn’t realistic. And it can cause the family added stress about having to make the right decision for you.
Sometimes an open conversation with the family about what the collection means to you is a good communication strategy in setting up a succession and/or exit plan for the collection. The unspoken assumption in most families is a collector would want someone in the family to keep it because it meant so much to you – as the collector. That’s not always the case so talk to your family and build either an exit or succession strategy for your collection while you’re building the collection.
As Kenny Rogers would sing in :The Gambler,
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em”
“Know when to fold ’em”
This article in the Money and Investing section of Sydney Morning Herald is a good example of the pressure a large collection can bring to other relatives when the collector has passed away.
http://America beckons for discs with history
Prized possessions and the collector. What to do when they are gone?