By Jennifer Garland Ross, AAA
Everyone wants the Picasso. But who’s taking the dining table?
Estate planning for art and personal property includes identifying the belongings, preserving their records, and considering the work required to value, divide, sell, donate, or remove them. Financial arrangements may establish who inherits. Families also need enough information to understand what they are inheriting.
After nearly thirty years working with art, antiques, and collections, I have seen how much practical responsibility can accompany a transfer. An important painting may receive plenty of attention. The jewelry in a safe-deposit box, the silver in the cupboard, and the contents of storage may receive considerably less.
All of it still needs a plan.
A collection can contain a few valuable objects and a great many modest ones. That does not mean the work follows the same proportions.
I have worked on major estates where disputes and scrutiny meant that even ordinary household possessions needed to be inventoried and valued. Sorting, identifying, and documenting those objects took time, regardless of what they might sell for.
Low value doesn’t mean low effort. Preparing earlier may reduce the questions, expense, and pressure that families face later.
Receipts, prior appraisals, laboratory reports, photographs, and correspondence can help establish what an object is and where it came from. The owner’s knowledge can also provide valuable leads for research.
A painting bought directly from an artist or an object acquired from a particular collection may have a history that nobody else has recorded. That information deserves attention while the owner can participate.
Existing records may also reveal questions that need specialist investigation. Resolving an attribution or locating acquisition documentation can take time. Discovering the gap after a death, with a deadline approaching, makes the work harder.
An equal financial division does not necessarily mean an equal contribution of time. One beneficiary may be finding records, meeting specialists, and arranging access while others live elsewhere.
Preparation cannot predict every family disagreement or response to grief. It can give the people taking responsibility a clearer starting point. Discussing who wants particular belongings, where records are kept, and who will coordinate the work can help.
An inventory is useful only if the right person knows where to find it.
You do not need to identify every object or know its value before asking for help. Explain what you hope to accomplish, where the property is located, and whether there are deadlines or family decisions to consider.
An estate tax appraisal, sales advice, and assistance with family division are different services. Art Peritus can help clarify the collection-related work and the specialist expertise it may require, alongside your attorney and tax advisor.
In the full Currencies of Value article, I share why I delayed my own estate planning and how these questions now arise in my family. This is the first of three articles covering preparation, appraisal, and the division or disposal of property.
Read the full article on Substack: The Great Stuff Transfer Part 1. The article is free to read. Become a paid subscriber to access the companion Estate Planning Checklist at no additional charge. Further installments will have their own companion checklists.
For help with the art, antiques, jewelry, and personal property involved in your plans, contact Art Peritus HERE.
Gather existing collection records, identify all property locations, and explain the intended purpose and relevant deadlines. The appraiser can then advise on the scope and preparation needed.
Yes. An inventory, accessible records, and early investigation of unresolved questions can provide a foundation for later work. Values and reporting requirements may need updating for a subsequent assignment.
Yes. They still need decisions about keeping, dividing, selling, donating, or removing them. The extent of individual documentation depends on the assignment and the estate’s circumstances.
The companion checklist is available to Art Peritus clients as well as paid subscribers of The Currencies of Value on Substack. The Art Peritus website provides article highlights and directs readers to Substack for the resource.
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Jennifer Garland Ross, AAA, is a nationally recognized fine art appraiser and lecturer specializing in fine art appraisal, valuation standards, appraisal education, and art insurance claims. She is the founder of Art Peritus, a fine art appraisal and luxury asset appraisal firm providing USPAP-compliant appraisals, expert valuations, and consulting services for collectors, estates, insurers, attorneys, fiduciaries, and family offices. Art Peritus provides independent valuation expertise across fine art, decorative arts, and more than 70 categories of valuable personal property and luxury assets.
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