Estate Planning

It Pays to Take an Inventory

By Hull and Hull LLP

There is a common perception that the auction is a staple of any estate administration.  Of course, this is far from the truth: in many estates, much of the contents of the estate residence are destined for the dumpster rather than the auction block.

But there is nothing more newsworthy then an unexpected windfall from an estate sale.  Indeed, Antique Road Show has built an entire franchise around the concept of the $100,000 cuckoo clock in the attic.  And "Finding Money You Didn't Know You Lost" (like a ten dollar bill inside a book) is no. 995 on 1000awesomethings.com .

The Associated Press recently ran a story about a rare Honus Wagner  (a.k.a. "The Flying Dutchman") baseball card that was bequeathed to a Baltimore order of Roman Catholic nuns and sold at auction for $262,000 to a card shop owner. The proceeds will go to the order's ministries in more than 30 countries around the world. 

The moral of the story is that any executor should not throw up his or her hands when faced with an attic full of "stuff".  Like finding a needle in a haystack (or, better yet, panning for gold), careful scrutiny may reward the beneficiaries and the executor alike.

David Morgan Smith

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on November 10, 2010 (boomark / email).