DIYbanter - View Single Post - Musing about the disposal of tools 'beyond the grave'.

In article ,
(Arch) wrote:

Designated gifts are notoriously unfair to all inheritors.

I'm not at all sure that statement is true. If a particular inheritor
has appreciation for a particular set of tools, far better those should
go to that inheritor than that they should be farmed out for cash and
the cash split up among all, IMHO. Perhaps some frank and open
discussions of the sort immortals don't like to have (since it means
facing mortality) with potential heirs would clear all that up ahead of
time. I am, at present, not at all inclined to treat all my potential
inheritors equally, as some are more deserving than others, based on the
way they conduct their lives & finances.

thought ahead of time. I don't know if the 'insured replacement' value
is the same as the 'estate value', but the 'reasonable & fair value' of
the equipment in even a modest shop is surprisingly significant in most
every estate. Do you know the value of yours?

The value of a set of tools has a great variance. One of the big
variables is time - in both cases where I have bought lathes of the late
departed, there was considerable value attached to getting them and all
of their associated tooling out of the house in a prompt manner [real
estate agents do not like substantial lathes in a house on the market,
evidently]. I did not dicker, and consider the prices fair to both
parties for ~120 year old lathes, while being way ahead of the curve for
what you'd pay for an equivalent quality/weight new lathe. In both cases
outside assistance by friends of the late departed had been supplied to
the survivors in the pricing phase.

There are plenty of "used stuff dealers" who make their mint by buying
out *everything* in a house, tossing the real junk, and selling the rest
off piecemeal. The people they buy from could make more money if they
took the time to do that, but choose not to (being interested in moving
on with life, or blowing their inheritance at the track, or whatever).

As for replacement .vs. estate value, not even close. Estate tools are
used, and the buyer can't speak to the previous user - the buyer has to
make an assessment based purely on what they can see. "Replacement
value" means "new tools from the store" to me.

It is certainly worthwhile to document your tools, especially if you
have any particularly valuable ones which might not be obvious to your
survivors (such as "rare, collectible antique tools" that look like "old
junk" to your spouse), so they don't get fleeced if they come to dealing
with a lowlife, but the fact is, they are not going to get what you paid
for the stuff if it's ordinary common tooling, unless you got one heck
of a deal on everything, and they take months or years to part it all
out piecemeal. The same documentation will be of use if you are alive
and dealing with insurance. Keep a copy or two at home and one in the
safe deposit box.

--
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