I Need advice so as not to leave my wife in the dark.

[DCP]

I Need advice so as not to leave my wife in the dark.

I have arms from the Civil war to WW2 sniper rifles to knives and arms from the current era. I have ammo to sell or give with most sales. I don’t have any junk.

Please do not ask what I have as this post is not a for sale post.

Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks

[tunnug]

Make a list of what you have and what will go with it, have a pair of price for each, low and high, show it to your wife to make sure she understands it and answer any questions without any attitude (not saying you will, I know I sometimes do it without realizing)keep in mind she may not know what you mean, good luck.

ps; if you already know who may want it you may want to add a name.

[Buck Butcher]

Sell them now. Prices are up, keep all you want, but sell is my advice.

My sisters (ex) husband passed away and left stuff for my sisters kids to deal with. My sister ended up having to handle the sales. The in-laws got involved too.

Save her the hassle, leave her an inheritance, not a mess.

My 2 cents

[Thin Man]

Decide which 1 or 2 of your closest, most trusted friends can pitch in to help guide your wife on these disposals. Over the past 8 years I have lost an average each year of one long time friend who was in the same circumstances as you suggest you are. I offered my assistance to each of these families and was gratefully accepted in most. The others used family members. I have a few friends where that person and I have a mutual agreement to offer our assistance to the surviving members of that person's family should they pass. I also shared this agreement with my wife. This way I can keep my toys until the end and still feel good the toys will bring my wife a fair price. My wife already knows the people I have selected to help her. If your wife has not met your designated assistant then introduce them to each other.

[StuBach]

You can also choose some designated friends to help your wife in disposition if needed.

I’m on the younger side of the spectrum here but I have a record binder (2 actually) which has info pages on all my firearms including photo, serial number, accessories and history. I have a third binder which has info on my larger equipment pieces (melters. Molds, presses, anything worth moving as a center piece. (Agree that adding pricing would be helpful)

Behind that I have my brother and a friend from this forum as designated “managers” that have agreed to assist wife with packing up safely and moving it around as needed. My view on it is my two kids get everything with certain pieces already assigned (they’re 2&4 currently). If they don’t want them to keep them they are to be parsed out to my nephews and niece so the collection stays in the family if possible.

If wife is in need of liquidating them for financial needs than brother has already agreed to help so family firearms stay in family (items inherited from our grandfather/dad) wife can liquidate the rest if needed using local friend who is trust worthy (and luckily has different tastes in firearms [emoji16]).

Best thing is have a plan and make sure she knows it. There is also such a thing as a “gun will” which is exclusively designed to do final disposition of a firearm collection if you want to go that route. Not all estate attorneys can draft them but they should be able to point you to who can.

[JimB..]

The surviving spouse will generally be slow to dispose of things, so figure that stuff will sit without care for 2 to 5 years unless she’s going to be moving out of the house. If the money will matter then you need to decide if you want to keep your toys until you pass knowing that it’ll be a burden on her, or sell your toys in advance giving up your hobby to lighten her load later.

[remy3424]

I agree with Buck, you know what you have and where to market them. Do her the courtesy of not having to deal with it, you will get much more for your stash than she ever would. I hope I have the opportunity to see the sun-set coming to do the same. At his point my kids have little to no interest in my hobbies.

[Land Owner]

The surviving spouse will generally be slow to dispose of things, so figure that stuff will sit without care for 2 to 5 years unless she’s going to be moving out of the house.

Not always...my boss' mother decided on the day AFTER his father's death to dispose of the LOT of firearms, reloading machines, accessories and components, ammunition, and casting gear. It was all my boss, a younger man than me, could do to keep his mom from putting it on the curb - for FREE - or for the garbage men, whoever came first.

We worked quickly together to value his father's shooting, casting, and reloading estate, initially through my 2.5 hour, photo line item by photo line item, estimate spreadsheet based on on-line retail and "used" values, and then waited a month for a 2nd opinion through the boss' friend that was within a "few hundred dollars" of my totals (best case and "what the market will bear"). The estate was sold, complete, for a reasonable value, and NOT thrown away.

[RU shooter]

Just me but if I knew I was at the age or condition I could no longer use or enjoy my possessions , I would handle the sale of them myself while I still could . Your knowledge of the items will maximize the potential for its true value . Take the profits and put in it a bank account or in precious metals

[Huskerguy]

Some good advice above. I am the care provider for my 90 year father and he has very little to dispose of but the time I spend just keeping up with medical decisions is significant.

Obviously, we don't know when the Lord calls us home. I have casting loading and firearms and all the pieces that go with it. I am sure many of us will push the envelope if time, admiring our goods right up until the last minute. So think practically. Obviously, selling yourself, before your demise would be best. Saves the wife and kids a bunch of headaches.

Here is what I do.
Label everything. Parts for my reloaders as re marked so they know where they go. Take pictures and make a list of what goes with want. With modern technology, this is not that difficult.

I have a spread sheet for every firearm that includes when purchased, where, price, serial number, detailed list of accessories and current value. I update this at least once a year.

I also have told my wife where to go to get rid of things should she need to. A friend will sell firearms at his store and I told her to use this site for my lead.

Just think things through and account for the what ifs. Yes, it would be nice to get it done before leaving this earth but things happen.

[kerplode]

I Need advice so as not to leave my wife in the dark.

I have arms from the Civil war to WW2 sniper rifles to knives and arms from the current era. I have ammo to sell or give with most sales. I don’t have any junk.

Please do not ask what I have as this post is not a for sale post.

Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks

Sell it all now.

[Duckiller]

I have no idea of DCP's age or health condition.He may be younger than me and live for another 30 years. Why should he sell guns now? Make a DATED list of firearms and accessories with today's prices. Update at least every 4 years. Have a shop or friend that can guide your wife. Update this periodically also. I have outlived my wife so it will fall on my sons and daughter to decide hat to do with my guns. Some will be kept (Colt Python) some will probably be sold (1911 SR) and some will be used by children or spouses or grandchildren. I am in my late 70's and probably only need a 31/2" goose gun . May need to buy a chipmonk for granddaughter when she is a little older ( 6 mos now). I may sell some guns that children have little interest in and I don't want/get to shoot much. Then again our new President may try to take guns from me and I want a few I can sacrifice.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Is your health failing?

If you have a lot of stuff, you don't want your wife selling these items piecemeal, as that can be a huge chore for anyone, even for the one who collected it all.

What I would recommend, is figure what is to stay with family, and then see if the balance of stuff is enough to warrant having an auction, if so, you may as well search out a good, trustworthy, local auctioneer who has an FFL (or one who is willing to sell them, even if they don't have an FFL, it's still legal to do so and there is special rules, but few are willing nowadays). Get it all setup now, so when she needs to sell, it's just a matter of her calling the Auctioneer.

[country gent]

I would recommend talking to an estate auctioneer. Have it set up and ready to go laid out with your will. If there are things you want to go to friends or family members name them out. Then its just following the instructions. Firearms, equipment,tools all can be included. Talk to the local auction houses have your wife present and your chosen executor let your wishes be known.
Consignment with a trusted shop can work but may become a drawn out process with bigger collections since they cant flood their inventory with a lot of firearms at one time.

[Ed K]

My local pusher recently pointed out several classes of collectible firearms that peaked a decade or more ago that may never regain their peak value.
Hamilton Bowen has gone on record claiming revolver prices (personal favorite) are at about peak and will in the future begin to decline indefinitely.
Firearms values are very high right now.
Why keep a spreadsheet of firearms that do not see use (when you're 60, 70, 80...)?


Sometimes being honest is tough: I could get by with a number I could count on one hand (or maybe two ;) ). If that honesty results in concern for your loved one all the more so...

[VariableRecall]

I may be very young here, but I think it would be prudent to make your thorough inventory in both electronic and physical form, Especially if you have a lot of it.
Perhaps you can Dewey Decimal that stuff and label everything so that all you have to do to find an item you're looking for is to refer to its number and place on the shelf.

That way, if it's being sold or just used by a friend, you can not have to worry and wait around trying in vain to find it.

[jimlj]

Definitely make a list with all values.
I'd sell or give away those you no longer shoot.
Don't leave too much for your wife to have to deal with.

My dad passed away 10 years ago, (mom passed 5 years earlier) and his estate is still a mess. No fighting among 7 kids, but he left no real direction and none of us want to take the bull by the horns and settle it.

My father in law had a stroke 8 years ago, and passed away 2 years ago. He had several collector cars he could no longer drive or enjoy. He would have no part of selling the cars to someone who would enjoy them, and left them for my wife and mother in law to deal with. He knew values and everything about them, but he took that information with him when he left.

These experiences convinced my wife and I to get our affairs in order so our kids don't have to deal with such a mess when we are gone.

Speaking from experience, make a plan while you can and don't leave it for others to have to deal with.

[wv109323]

I would write down a description of each a give an approximate value, especially if your firearms are rare. Another option is an auction firm that specializes in the arena of your collection. That is a quick way to dispose and you may not get top dollar. There may be an auction site that you trust and you could recommend them to your spouse.

[Geezer in NH]

Not for nothing but why do you think you will out live her? Just cause you want to does not mean you will..

She goes and you sold all your stuff now you got squat. No wife[god bless her] and none of the stuff that makes you happy.

Hard thing to say the way this post goes but it has a 50/50 chance eh?

[contender1]

A lot of excellent advice here in the above posts.
I'll offer another tidbit that will save a LOT of headache AND money.

Talk to a lawyer,, who specializes in TRUSTS! Put your collection of stuff in a Trust,, and then it isn't subjected to estate taxes & such. TALK TO A LAWYER ABOUT IT!!!!!!

[mike britton]

My 27 year old grandaughter lives with me and helps me keep the spread sheet on the guns up to date.
One good thing she brought up was that we needed to be sure the "family" guns are highlighted on the sheet so that the family knows what guns stay in the family and what guns are merely trading fodder.
I'm 72 and I have started listing in word histories of each of the guns, where they came from, what I paid for them, etc. so that the family has some idea of each gun's story. Do it now while you still can. I have a couple examples that I have no idea of their individual stories.
Everyone has a box full of photos that they cannot identify. Family guns can possibly have that same problem.

[MarkW]

As mentioned, a lot of good advice here. Only thing I can add is a good indicator of actual value right now is to make an account on gunbroker and then you can look up completed auctions that will show you what the guns actually sold for. It is not the best indicator for prices but at least you can have a wild idea whereas before you had none.

[Winger Ed.]

The wife & I have established a trust and there is a 'letter to executors' that lists and designates where everything goes, and who gets what.
The guns, tools, antique family heirlooms, jewelry, furniture, the cars, everything is listed in the letter.
No taxes, no court hearings, hopefully no unanswered questions, or hard decisions for those who we leave behind.

After seeing a life long friend's sisters come to blows, basically over their Mom's 20 year old underwear---
We have left no wiggle room for, "I'm 1,000% sure Dad wanted ME! to have that"

[Handloader109]

A couple of points. If you make list of things, make sure to DESTROY old list when you update (if you do) In other words only have ONE list. My mom had a bunch of jewelry. Some hers, some her Mothers and some an aunt's. Not a lot was really worth a lot, and she has SEVERAL lists all together, where she had tried to describe and list the items. While my brother and I get along, my Sil and my wife don't and unfortunately I was short man out when we all quickly parsed out the items. No pictures to match items, some items missing or mismatched. It doesn't matter money wise but it left bad taste in my mouth as my mom tried to make it easy. If any of you have this sort of rivalry, work to insure things go smoothly without quarreling over trivial things.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[725]

A complete spread sheet with details, first of all. Then I'd set those aside I want to keep and then attach a tag on each with details of history, significance, and why it has been important to you. Tag those you want to go to certain people and sell as many as you are comfortable with selling. Then discuss everything with the wife.

[Land Owner]

Who cares about estate planning? I sure as heck do! Some are afraid and don't want to consider the morbidity of their own death. They SHOULD!

It only takes a few minutes a YEAR to be considerate and designate to whom, family or friend, you wish to leave something of value, sentimental or real. Making a DATED list is a partial plan in that.

Be certain of what you want done after your death. Make a notarized, signed, and witnessed:

i.) LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

ii.) LIVING WILL - to allow the decision, on your sworn word, to literally "pull your plug" rather than languish in a vegetative state, before the Health Care profession drains your life's blood and savings

iii.) designate a HEALTH CARE SURROGATE - to clearly steer Health Care decisions about you if you become incapacitated

iv.) assign a DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY. If your incapacity persists, such as coma, unconsciousness, respirator, inability to speak, etc., trust and assign someone to make, and bind on your behalf, important and timely decisions while you are not at the helm through that storm.

None of these HAVE to be prepared by an attorney. Read the documents. Make up your own mind. If you can post text here, you can download a PDF from the Net and retype it as your own in a word processor, which you can then modify to suit ad infinitum. There are suitable free examples on line in every State.

JUST DO IT! There is no time like the present. Tomorrow may be too late. These decisions may chart the best course of your life.

[StuBach]

This thread and my positive Covid test lit a little fire under me last night and I updated an old list of firearms I used to maintain for my collection. Originally it just contained firearm, manufacturer year, age, and appx value current on gunbroker. I updated it last night with a “who should get” column that has 2-3 levels of how to disperse each firearm. First layer is who do I most want to get the firearm (misty my two kids) followed a second layer of who should get them if they are unwilling/unable to keep them after they turn adult.

This way my wife knows my wishes and in the worst case an approximate value of the firearms in today’s world (who knows what that value will be but that’s not a problem for today).

I printed this list, signed and dated it, and sealed in an envelope that is now taped to the side of one of my safes where it’s out of the way but conspicuous to someone opening the safes. Wrote in big letters, “who gets what firearms” on the envelope to catch someone’s attention.

[KCSO]

I made my Daughter MY POA a note book with detils of all my guns and acessoried with provenance and values as of 2015. When I pass on she will take care of the sales and dispositions according to the will.

I was afraid my wife wouls sell everything for what I told her I paid for it... Just joking. Althought a $79 SKS has risen on value somewhat in the last few years.

[.45Cole]

+1 on the auction idea. Super easy for somebody to go through the process and the attention of high value things will bring bidders. Best part is if you're not around to complain about something that may have sold cheap, your survivor will never know the difference. Most collections aren't valuable enough to be life changing (like $50k) and the hassle of actually selling something at it's value is hard. Be sure to list a couple of "keepers".

[BJK]

I'm in the process of going through this as I write. I'm getting older and firearms that I have loved and can no longer use, no matter how much I love them I'm selling. I have a brother who's buying many of them to keep them in the family. But my point is that I'm doing it now. If any of them need to go to selected individuals put it in writing or hand them out now. I want to know where my firearms are going and more importantly who they won't be going to. I once gave a rifle to a nephew and told him that if he ever sells it to let me know and I'll buy it back from him. He sold it to a friend and I found out from his father. I can sell things to people I don't know just as easily if I have a mind to, but firearms are as personal as underwear.

If you pass and she has to sell them they can be taken to a gun shop, but they have a business model that they must follow or they're out of business. She'll get maybe 50% of their worth. It's not a scam, it's just the reality of being in business. Or maybe she can put them on consignment, or call a trusted friend or 2 to sell them privately.

But fast moves are to be avoided. She should distrust anyone wanting her to make them and show them to the door. I've seen what can happen twice when a widow has done this. The first time a shady gent contacted the widow of a friend to take care of the firearms. He absolutely did that and removed the firearms that she hated. She never saw them or any proceeds from them and hasn't seen him again. The 2nd was another widow where a "friend" wanted the husbands SxS shotgun. A cousin of the woman called me to ask if I would look the guns over to appraise them and the widow was smart enough not to make fast moves. Of all the firearms the only one worth anything was that shotgun and I told her what to ask for it. The friend hit the ceiling when he was going to have to pay what it was worth to get it. Clearly he expected to get it for little or nothing.

There are plenty of other ways to handle the disposal of a collection and while I didn't read the entire thread I did see enough of them to where I know that I don't need to repeat them for you.

I wish you well.

[Ed K]

My local pusher recently pointed out several classes of collectible firearms that peaked a decade or more ago that may never regain their peak value.
Hamilton Bowen has gone on record claiming revolver prices (personal favorite) are at about peak and will in the future begin to decline indefinitely.
Firearms values are very high right now.
Why keep a spreadsheet of firearms that do not see use (when you're 60, 70, 80...)?


Sometimes being honest is tough: I could get by with a number I could count on one hand (or maybe two ;) ). If that honesty results in concern for your loved one all the more so...

Quoting myself - never done that before. Why? I titled that post "These are a few points I seriously need to consider myself". It has been 8 days since that post:


Started building an inventory of the keepers and developing a strategy for the rest.
One is already on consignment with my local dealer.
One is already listed on Gunbroker.


It will take a bit of effort but there is no rush. Feeling good about getting sufficiently motivated to begin. To be clear I'm not going to deprive myself here but the ones for sale just don't see any use. I'm sure I'm not alone on that.

[facetious]

I knew a guy years ago that collected full auto and other top end stuff. He told me that he had a dealer that had gone over his stuff and would take care of stuff for him should he kick it so his wife wouldn't have to deal with it. I haven't seen him in years but heard he had sold off all his full auto stuff. He would be in his mid 80s by now.

But it has made me wonder when ever I look at something I think would be cool to have and wonder why?