Posted on 03/15/2015 8:15:45 AM PDT by Kaslin
A theme that dramas and soap operas have dwelled on is the spats people can have over what their ancestors may leave for them. Life imitates art has been my experience seeing relatives squabble over the dead carcasses, but some have taken the issue to heart in a new television series on the Fox Business Network (FBN) called Strange Inheritance.
The episodes I watched did not involve fisticuffs, but they incorporate many of the same decisions that one has to confront upon the death of a loved one. First, there are the wishes of the dear departed. What did the departed want done with earthly valuables? Can the surviving family members afford to keep whatever assets they are bequeathed? And then there are always the tax considerations.
The difference here is that so far the show has focused on the kind of assets that you and I do not have to deal with upon someone’s death. Unlike selling a condo, disposing of stocks or disbursing of pension plans, these folks have to decide to sell or keep unique items.
For example, what if your father was a world-class cellist and had as his main asset a Stradivarius (yes, he made cellos also.) Bernard Greenhouse was the cellist in the Beaux Arts Trio, a world famous musical group. He lived to be 95 years old and became so attached to his cello that at the end he slept with it. The episodic adventure takes you through the decision to sell the instrument and then the efforts made to place the world-class instrument in the correct hands upon selling. The story was so engaging that when my 24-year-old daughter came in the room, she ended up watching the entire story and told me she found it quite captivating.
The episode does not address the issue of how the family would have to deal with death taxes. As you know, a few years back the Congress came to a deal with President Obama and agreed to a new lifetime exemption that in 2015 has been increased (the deal includes an annual cost-of-living increase in the exemption) to $5.43 million per person. The cello was destined to sell for an amount far north of that. How the family would have dealt with the death taxes if they kept the instrument would have been fascinating. They would have probably been forced to sell the beloved instrument to pay the government for the one thing their father treasured. You have to watch the episode to find out what happens with the cello.
I had an opportunity to interview the host of Strange Inheritance, Jamie Colby. Ms. Colby had been working with Fox Business Network for over a decade after graduating from law school and becoming an adjunct professor of law. The network came to her with the idea for the show and she told me she found it quite fascinating on many levels.
Colby’s team has put together 26 episodes from Internet research and court filings on what they considered strange items that people had been left by deceased relatives. Colby has now crisscrossed the nation, visiting 25 states and meeting with the families. She learned of their challenges dealing with not only the magnitude of what was left, but the wishes of the deceased. The show has become the most successful launch of any new show on the network.
Colby spoke of an upcoming episode where the family was left a fleet of old tractors. Some had to be sold and the family was bewildered as to which ones had to go. Fortunately, they were able to get guidance from their deceased relative and resolved the matter to where everyone was comfortable.
Colby told me what she has seen is that the show “has really caused people to think about their own inheritance.” I mentioned recently setting up a meeting for a very successful attorney who had told me that despite his knowledge of law and being over 70 years old he was not properly prepared for his own demise. Colby reminded that many people avoid the subject because they just are uncomfortable confronting death. Colby stated “The show raises awareness for families of what might confront them in the future.”
Watching the show can give you impetus to tend to your own affairs and at the same time entertain you with stories of a lost Roy Orbison song, a movie theater that a family needed to save, or a world-class insect collection that Walt Disney attempted to buy. You may have your own strange items that someone will inherit one day.
I had to put the paper towels and toilet paper I bought from Costco in my will. No way I can use that much before I die.
The government is like a vulture perched on our shoulder.Waiting for us to die so it can enjoy a big meal.
I know grown adults who still don't own their own home because they stand to inherit their childhood home from their parents and they are patiently (I hope) waiting for them to die. That just seems very wrong to me.
Make your own way in the world. That's what I say.
“Fortunately, they were able to get advice from their deceased relative”
Well......of course they were.
“Buy low and sell high.”
Thanks for that advice.
What I have inherited from the estates of loved ones, I would give back ten times over just to have them back again.
Sooner or later an executor will dispose of my own estate. Sobering thought when buying things from `estate sales’.
“Somebody had to die so I could bid on this”
Years ago, I worked with a younger guy who had a ‘crazy’ uncle. The guy had collected scooters and trail-bikes from the 1960s on. In some shed, this guy had assembled well over a thousand items. He wouldn’t repair or sell anything...it was simply his collection. His wife tried hard over the last five years of his life to talk the guy into doing something with the ‘problem’, and he would not agree to anything. Eventually, he passed on.
My work associate was brought into the family discussion but didn’t really want to do anything beyond just advice.
This widow just wanted someone to do something for her and what she needed was a full-time guy to prepare the collection for sales and it’d probably take a full year to dispose of everything. I never knew the ending to this story.
Basically, when a guy does something this stupid and passes away....all he’s doing is screwing over the wife and the family. No one will ever be such an expert and get the best deal for the widow on such an event.
What’s that old joke?
“My biggest nightmare is that I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for ‘em.”
LOL. My mom died 3 years ago and I haven’t had to buy either one since. Looks like maybe another 3 years I might have to think of restocking. Ain’t COSTCO wonderful.
Using my liberal in laws as counter-examples, and referring to “Animal House” ,I’ve told my kids that waiting to inherit is no way to go through life.
The goal of the parents -- who are in their 80s -- is to ensure that their grandchildren will have whatever resources they need to go to college. Other than that, everyone is on their own. I suspect most of their money will be donated to their church and to other worthy charities when they pass on.
My friend recently told me how grateful he was when his father-in-law gave him a vehicle for their work in the family business. It was a ten year-old Ford pickup truck. LOL.
I watch “American Pickers” with the constant thought of - some poor descendant will have to pay to have 90% of that shit hauled off.
BTW anyone leaving a planned inheritance in anything other than untraceable cash or other assets is a fool. Give all the “stuff” to a local charity and let the heirs go on without the hassle.
You’re right - sometimes parents and grandparents live longer than expected - and ‘the house’ gets sold rather than passed on.
I have told my husband repeatedly for years that he has to - or we have to (I’ll even pitch in even though it’s not my junk) - clean out the hoard in the basement and garage before he leaves this earth and the kids get stuck hauling his crap out. He turned 68 today, in fact. I don’t know how much longer he thinks he has to do this. Maybe when he’s in his walker.
I generally agree with you. I am rather upset with an uncle of mine; a man who has worked his entire life trying to figure out how he could get away with not working. Long story short, he ended up pawning an Italian officer’s pistol my grandfather brought back from WWII that my grandfather wanted my cousin to have but my cousin didn’t want it. Knowing that my cousin didn’t want it I asked him if I could have it and would give him the cash value for it. He agreed. In the meantime, his mother, who was storing the pistol for my grandfather, gave it to her brother (the uncle I’m mentioned above), along with some paperwork that my grandfather had with it. So, now it’s gone, just gone from the family forever. That breaks my heart. It had relatively minimal money value. My uncle said he got $800 for it, but since he rarely tells the truth about stuff like that, I figure it was probably closer to double that. But the family and historical value with regards to the family are priceless. Damn shame people can’t behave like adults about such things.
My sympathies. I have a reasonable collection of stuff compared to most of my friends and relatives. I am younger than you hubby. I spend to much time trying to remember where I put stuff I have not seen in decades!!
Gee how many did you buy, and why?
“Gee how many did you buy, and why?”
I was just kidding. Toilet paper and paper towels come about 50 rolls for the one 12 for the other. It’s just a comment on how we’ve become industrial-sized consumers, saving a bit per roll but being forced to buy a huge supply for the privilege.
Seance? Ouija board?
Sounds like somebody got incompetent advice. Capital gains (e.g. the value of the cello) reset tax-free at time of death.
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