Thread: Planning for the inevitable

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Like a lot of us on here, I've got 45 years worth of accumulated cars, trucks, parts, tools, and equipment. My attorney (and go-fast buddy) brought it up last winter, "What happens to all this stuff when you tip over?" Used to think I was invincible, but the last 25 years have shown me otherwise.

Jackie hasn't known or cared what I owned and what's in the garage for 30 years, and my kid knows even less about what's there (or even what it is). So, in my will I've had it specified who I want to take care of getting rid of all my stuff when I die. It's the son of a guy I've known forever, and he's trustworthy and honest. He's also very knowledgeable on cars, parts, tools, and equipment. I specified some of my stuff I'd like him to have and I know he'll be most excellent and finding the right market and buyers for the rest of it.

Probably not one's favorite thing to consider, but IMO nevertheless very necessary to prevent a lot of hassles later on..........

I hear what you are saying Dave, I've seen too many times when when a car guy passes away that the vultures swoop in and pay pennies on the dollar.

I've already told Donna if something happens to me my cars are to be sold to support HER. Even though she'll take a bit of a hit I think the best thing is going to be having her put them on consignment at a local specility car dealer....that way the they have a vested intrest in getting the most out of them.

As far as parts, I've got a good friend who I talked to about helping her get rid of those (he runs a machine shop so he got a prety good handle on whats what). I've been weeding out the parts supply pretty well over the last couple of years......sorting thru those left overs I'll never use anyway. I actually enjoy getting out to the swap meets a couple of times a year and dealing with the car guys (I've given some of the young guys just getting into it some pretty good deals).

The antiques and tools will end up going to my grandsons...what they do with them is up to them.

As far as I'm concerned the big thing is to get your wishes written down to the folks know what your wishes are.

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Funny you should bring this up . . . Rosie and I were talking about this very thing just last night.
One of the major problems with my estate would be my collection of die-cast toys . . . some (many) of which are quite valuable.
I have well over 1,000 of them; perhaps as many as 1,500 . . . insurance value of $100,000.
The NZ market is very small, and suddenly dropping a collection of this size and value onto it would glut the market, causing a downturn in prices.
So last night we decided to approach NZ Customs Dept. to find out the ramifications of parcelling them up and sending them to a reputable European auction house to sell them before I become late . . . the thinking being that the European market would scarcely notice a collection of this size, and would more readily absorb it.

I've already made a start on 'cleaning up' other parts of my estate . . . I no longer run heavy machinery, so I'm not breaking and having to repair 'stuff'; so gave my #2 son my big mig welder, (kept my small arc welder though!) and sold off my collection of steel for $1700 to the local scrap dealer.

Then there's my collection of books . . . once again; many old and rare pieces . . .

sigh . . .

Yes this is a subject that most don't want to face but funnily enough, one that has been going around in my head now for a while. The Bucket is going to my younger brother with the understanding that it gets left to his son and never leaves our shores. Now as for the tools etc. I am lost as to what to do with them as nobody else in the family are the dirt under the finger nail types of people so I may leave the lot to my good friend Steve who runs his own Rod Building business. The problem I have also is that my stepfather left some of his tools in the garden shed for me to deal with also.

I had a deal with my best buddy that whichever one of us was left would help the departed's wife parcel out all the junk..................the bastard died first! The car stuff is relatively easy, though he left her with ideas of value that don't fit today's market conditions. The tougher stuff is the shop equipment. She's 150 miles away so I can't work through the local ad thing as that would probably take a few weeks. My advice to her (and like Mike's comment, there is a small cost) was to get an estate auction house that is experienced with tools and machinery to handle the appraisal and sale. The whole deal would be over in a matter of a day or two, she'd get more money on the more desirable pieces, and maybe less on the least, but it would all be gone. Coincidentally another rodder's widow lives near her and has a similar situation, so perhaps combining the two, with the proper promotion, would bring a sizable crowd.

As for my stuff, I've started to take a more realistic look at some of the "I might need that some day" stash and started to trickle it out (mindful of johnboy's admonition). Interesting to note that for whatever reason(s) sales (or just inquiries) have slowed to a trickle this summer. Probably driven by bigger economic conditions/beliefs.

It has been fascinating to watch a lot of "barn finds" and part treasure troves creeping out onto the market as folks our age and a bit older have to grapple with infirmity, medical bills, and death. Stuff that many thought 20 years ago we'd never see again, all of a sudden the hoarders/collectors are freeing them up. As has happened before with other oddities of interest, those of us that live long enough may see the time when we wonder where all the buyers for this stuff have gone......................nah.....too depressing...................carry on!

This is a good topic. I'm sort of on the other side of the fence as I'm half your guys age. I was in the thinking of I won't need a will for 40 years or so. But after a good friend's grandfather passed away, I started changing my attitude. Grandpa George's collection of everything was taken by the state and auctioned off at a silent bidding meeting. the land was developed and all his stuff crushed and never saw the light of day again. His 2 sons got nothing of their fathers as the stuff was gone before they knew it. Some of it may have been their neglect, but I doubt it. I don't want my stuff being a hindorance for my family or wife so I've been compiling a living will just in case.

Thanks for all your comments and ideas. I've thought about plans for what to do with my toys in case/when something happens but haven't done it yet. I like the idea of making an agreement with a knowledgeable friend to help the family figure it out since right now they don't know enough to do it on their own. If I hold out long enough my sons will be older and wiser so they'll be able to handle it. Right now they're only 17 and 18 and I really don't like the idea of inexperienced, impulsive youth driving such potentially lethal vehicles. I realize any car can be in an accident but cars that have enough power to bust tires loose at will require prudent handling.

I used to joke that they will bury me in my cars. Partly this was inspired by legends. Being we're Hungarian and my dad was an artist his whole life, he painted many Hungarian themed paintings. One of my favorite of his works is his depiction of the legend of Attila's Burial. Rather than the "barbarian" defined in most European and Western writings, Attila is a revered national hero to Hungarians. His men diverted a Hungarian river and dug a grave in the riverbed and then buried Attila along with his most beloved battle stallion (aka my hot rod & Supra), then let the river flow its normal course. The painting depicts the funeral pyre and the solemn ceremony and to me it has a mysterious, almost Biblical aura about it:

We had one of our machinists pass away a couple of years ago. He was never married so his sister got all his stuff.....she only wanted to keep one of his vehicles (that was under construction) in the family. Since his family lived 1000+ miles away, they asked if we could help sell the stuff. I asked her if she wanted a fast sale OR top dollar at a slower pace. She said fast sale. Craigs List was the answer. Put realistic prices on everything, gave his friends first shot and sold everything.....even the junk. Usually, someone would come over to look at a big item and end up taking several items. His sister ended up with cash AND the real estate was cleaned out so it could be sold.