Projects Death and Taxes. How to pass it on.

Damn man.
I learned a few years ago from my father-in-law that it is best to sit the family down and make a plan. Nobody wants to have that conversation, and we experienced a lot of emotions during the "meeting". We came out of that with a full understanding of what he and his wife done if one, or both of them pass. It wasn't easy, but I'm thankful we did it.

Mike

 

Heck Ive studied on this subject quite a bit. Once I thought I would do something to make it better when im gone. Then I got to thinking Why give it free rent in my head? when Im dead I will not care! And If my wife outlives me its all hers to do 100% whatever she wants. And She has already told me she will have a auction and spend the proceeds on herself. and that's fair because Debbie has helped me to get the hoard. The grown sons hardly ever come by unless they want something. Right now the grandsons seem interested however that might change. And we have actually been selling some stuff . I split the proceeds 50-50 with Debbie and we spending the money on ourselves . Probably the best thing that could happen when you die is to not have any assets for your relatives to fight over. So if you want them to have anything give it to them before you die and before they are too old to do anything with it.

 

I sounds like you are nearing the end of your days. Sell the stuff and spend the money enjoying the time you have left.

 

When I turned 70 I went through my garage and labeled all the miscellaneous parts so that if I go before I either use or sell them that my kids will know what they go to if they auction or ebay the stuff off.
If I knew for a fact that my time was numbered short, I would start ebaying the small shippable stuff and sell of the bigger and harder to sell stuff before I go.
But try to enjoy the time you have left, perhaps some car buddies can deal with selling the stuff off. Knowing time is short may mean that getting the primo prices might not work out as we hope.
My thoughts are with you my friend..

 

Prayers to you and your family . Just don't give up yet on life . Miracles can happen. I wish I could help you out with your project and your family. May God bless your family.

 

Man, Hate to hear your situation, I know its gut wrenching and you are doing alot of thinking. So Have a sit down discussion with the kids, see where they stand, and hold true to deals with them. If they do not have the interest to keep then roll it on to someone else to love, be picky and make sure you feel good about the sale if it comes to that. Purge crap you dont want to pass down or things that they wont use etc.

Best wishes man, hope things change you you keep this stuff and finish the truck ultimately and stay around here a while longer.

 

I’m reluctant to post on this subject as it is highly personal. My wife and I have separate wills and both wills have a blank page. We can use those blank pages to change or update our wishes, depending on the current situation. The attorney outlined how these pages are used so that they are legal. And yes, they are changed from time to time depending on our moods and new acquisitions. Put your thoughts and ideas on paper BEFORE you see an attorney.

 

I'm really sorry you're having to think about this, since we're about the same age, I can't image how tough that must be.

All my shop does is resell stuff like what you have, and I've cleaned out many estate sales and auctions from families so I have some perspective. One, if you have enough time, sell the stuff yourself, or at least, set it up to sell. I've watched a lot of projects sell at auction for pennies because they couldn't find the title or certain parts were missing. If time is very short, it's understandable that you wouldn't want to devote a lot of time to it, but even a few hours gathering all of the pieces together and laying out the paperwork will bring a much better price.

Same for tools, round up the stuff you loaned out and get it organized. It'll make a huge difference.

Also, I'd be very wary of putting a value/price on everything if you don't plan to sell it yourself. I've dealt with enough families that were super stressed out that they didn't want to sell something for a certain price because their relative told them how valuable it was, and they end up either hanging onto shit they don't want forever trying to get what they were "supposed to get", or they feel bad when they auction it all off and it doesn't bring what they were thinking it was supposed to. People do that thinking they're saving their families from getting ripped off, but it often just adds shitloads of stress at an already stressful time.

Keep in mind, selling stuff on eBay gets you the best money, but takes lots of time. Depending on how much time you have available, that may or may not be worth it. Having a live auction (or bringing in a solid estate sale company) is going to bring a fraction of that, but it's all over in a day or a weekend.

 

Couldn't have said this better myself. I call it dead money. You can have it when I'm gone. If you want to give someone something, do it while you're alive so you can get the joy of seeing them enjoy it. Otherwise you probably didn't want them to have it. If Vikings family isn't interested in the truck, I'm sure there is a young boy or girl around that would be, and the chance to change their life for the better would be the best feeling i could imagine in this situation.

 

I came real close to cashing in this year myself man. Upon my recovery, I told Mrs. BB the buddies she can call that will help her liquidate what I have (had) which is important, and a couple NOT to call which is much more important.

Funny, she asked for my HAMB log ons just in case. Guess she was thinking of you bastards. "A good woman, who can find..."

OP, The Lord protect you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you and give you peace!

 

Put your stuff in a "Living Trust" and name the trustee and who gets what and then you will skip the taxes.

 

Terrible situation to be in. You just mention the project car and tools. That does,nt sound like much to organize, even short time. Just pile the project together for re-sale with a few friends and get onto more important things. Now if your a hoarder get some different color spray cans from the dollar store and start colour coding everything. Just a squirt to make a decent dot is enough. Makes it easy when the family starts selling the left over stuff. One colour for the $10 bits, one colour for the $20 bits, etc, etc. Gold & Silver for the expensive stuff. At the same time scrap goes out on the sidewalk. Good luck.

 

I see advertisements all the time to attend free seminars for estate planning. I assume they are talking about "Living Trusts" and there must be some financial benefit to them for guiding you through the process. Is that what you are referring to?

 

I've had a living trust sine 1999. Re-did it last year as inheritance laws changed. t\The Fed limit on estates before taxes is so high most of us won't get there ($11 million or so). State taxes are different-you'll need a lawyer. One benefit is to avoid probate when the first spouse dies. Ours goes to the surviving spouse, then equally to the kids. This will cost you $1-2 K or so. Remember that everything needs to be re-titled to the trust except your IRA's. ou live those in a separate will or designate beneficiaries ahead of time. Bank accounts, mutual funds, property-you won't be able to do this in one afternoon.

 

^^^^ Did this as well several years ago as well--was a bit pricey and quite involved but well worth the peace of mind.

 

Does the Living Trust prevent everything going to a nursing home if someone ends up there ? I have a friend who is eighty and he and his wife have had a terrible time the last few years. She had mild dimentia and after an operation for internal problems she now has a colostomy bag and apparently the anastesia made the dimentia worse. Basically she needs care 24/7. She fell on him and broke his back, and he has fallen several times in the last few years...breaking bones each time. Basically he is losing mobility too. They have a family friend they pay to be there and their daughter lives next door. The daughters husband had a motorcycle accident years ago and has the mental ability of a child.

They have 2 very nice Street Rods and their home is paid for (I think). The daughter is not allowed to own more than one vehicle because she is receiving public assistance for her husband. They want to pass things on to their two daughters, but with their health issues things are very difficult. Any suggestions............

 

Agree on the living trust. I did it several years ago and make changes from time to time.
Don't be afraid to give stuff away while you're still alive and kicking. My brother in law has always admired an artifact I found while scuba diving 45 years ago. Last December I gave it to him and my sister. I told them that I would enjoy seeing it displayed in their home from now on.

 

Sorry to hear that you may have gotten some bad news, said a quick prayer for you.

I'm part of a group of car buddy friends that have agreed to help liquidate each others stuff when the time comes, because they all have a good idea of the value, and where to go to peddle the stuff. The last man standing will hopefully be one of the two who have kids interested in the old stuff, so they can pass it on.

 

It's different in every state, but generally speaking no. A living or "revocable" trust means you still have control of the assets. You would need to place your assets into a non revocable trust that is not intended to provide benefit for you and the assets would no longer legally be yours to control.

It's probably too late in the situation you describe, but if your friend wants to keep things above board he should seek out a competent elder law attorney. The possibility of a "medical divorce" is probably the best way to salvage the most amount of assets, but there are a ton of moral and ethical issues not to mention we're not supposed to be logical robots.