Friend of The Blog ™, Tam, had a post that linked to an article about that day when you finally stop being a going concern and what happens to your stuff afterwards. From “Where Will Your Guns Go When You Die?”….
Regardless, both guys leave behind a tremendous legacy, family, friends — and a sizable firearms collection. While it might seem a trivial matter when locked in the throes of grief, the proper disposition of a gun collection is actually an important task which will dramatically help the survivors in the long run. However, meticulously liquidating a collection to get maximum value requires some planning and forethought, which is where we all stumble.
Another sad fact is many of our families aren’t interested in our guns. Despite their intrinsic and sentimental value, to some family members, guns are considered no more valuable than old kitchen appliances and are generally handled the same when it comes time to liquidate an estate.
Here are five steps that can help solve what will be an eventual problem for nearly every shooting enthusiast. Don’t put these important tasks off because you never know when the final bell will ring! I could give you a couple of recent examples …
I paid a hot little Charlize Theron lookalike attorney a buncha money a couple years ago to crank out a will for me. Pretty simple stuff…house/property goes here, money goes there, guns go over here. That was it.
Whats interesting is that, as of late, I’ve been privy to a couple estates from families that lost someone who was into guns. In every case it was scene where various family members ‘got first dibs’ and whatever was left afterwards was sold. I’m fine with that. I like a Smith Model 21 as much as the next guy, but if grandson wants it because grandad taught him to shoot with it…I’m not gonna get bent outta shape.
But I’ve also been to a few estates where no one in the family was interested. And some very nice and hard-to-find guns wound up leaving the family.
It’s easy to give the old saw about how ‘when you die, we’re splitting up your gear’ but it isn’t always that easy. Heck, I know at least one guy who never even told his wife the combination to his gun safe. Pretty good bet she doesnt have a solid grasp of whats gonna be laying around when he shuffles off.
I’ve some interesting stuff, but I’ve told my friends that if there’s something of mine they like, let me know…I’ll make sure that the executors know it goes to them. I’ll tell you what I dont want, though….under no circumstances does any of my property or wealth go the state. None. Burn it all down before that happens.
