If you’re going to be adding pieces of art to your estate plan, it’s important to know that this can get a bit complicated. You need to know exactly how to set up the plan so that your wishes are honored and so that you help your heirs avoid disputes.
Whether you have a full art collection or just a few pieces around your house, you need to know exactly why this gets complicated and how to address it in advance.
It can be a very valuable financial asset
First and foremost, an art collection could be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Many people see art as a form of investment. They purchase pieces deliberately because they believe the price will rise and they can sell for a profit. In other cases, collectors do it simply because they love the art itself, but that still may mean that they have pieces that are worth an incredible amount of money. Any kind of high-value asset like this is more likely to cause a dispute or become complicated when heirs can’t agree.
It may have no value at all
On the absolute opposite end of the spectrum, remember that some pieces of art have no financial value, but they have a lot of sentimental value. This often happens to people who have prominent pieces in their home that the children remember from when they were living there as kids. Sentimental value gets tricky because it’s impossible for multiple people to inherit the same item and selling it to divide the money is not a viable solution.
As you can see, it’s important to understand all the legal options you have when creating this type of estate plan.
