Thoughts on who inherits what.

[spec4]

Last week my neighbor died suddenly. Great guy. Got me to thinking how quickly you can go and what would happen to my guns when I'm gone. I have two sons in law and five grandsons who are all into firearms. My daughters don't care. I currently have a decent collection of rifles and handguns. Should I leave a list of who gets what or ask them their preferences, or just let them work it out when the time comes? How to make a list of who gets what? Wife is OK with whatever I do as long as I do something.

 

[Rookie]

I like my grandparents idea. When they die, the executor will hire someone to appraise every item. Then the children will be given monopoly money, each getting an equal amount, to bid on each item. If they really want something, and they're out of monopoly money, they can use real money. After the auction, anything left will be sold off and the money will be split equally.

 

[CHCRandy]

Lord knows you need to have something. People go stupid over inheritance, that is why Sting, Buffet, Gates and the other billionaires are leaving nothing to their children. It promotes laziness and uncaring individuals.

I had an Uncle die last week who is still not buried because my family is fighting over his remains. He left no will but a POA, POA dies when the person dies....so now his next of kin has to release body......which happens to be his estranged kids. They don't want to sign because they could be financially accountable for burial expenses......and the fathers life insurance beneficiary is his sister which is angry at the children. What a fuster cluck.

I have a friend who just found out she was cut out of her dad's will after he died by her step mother....the step mother recently died and left everything to her kids(which the dad was not the father) and the real daughter lost all of his property.

When my dad died I took all his guns and still have them. I didnt even offer them to my sisters.....although they know if they wanted them they could have had them. I am not big on mugging the dead......but I can tell you first hand that most people are.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

"do your giving while you're living so you're knowin' where it's goin' "

Whatever you do... Do SOMETHING.

My mother-in-law died 9/25/13. Without a current will. She was "almost" married to another guy - but had called the wedding off soon before the accident - but was still involved with the guy/co-habitating - when she died.

The only copy of a will that my wife & her siblings could find still involved her prior ex-husband. Their divorce was finalized in 2007. She told all her kids that she had an updated will done - but none could be found. Either it was with her when she died or she never had it done. Her kids called all the attorneys in a three-county area trying to find out if any of them had her as a client. None had.

And of and relating to this: my MIL's step dad (who has been my wife's grandpa most of her life) has all but written one of his step-daughters out of his will due to how she treats him. He has two bio kids of his own + three step kids. One bio kid + 1 step kid are "estranged" from him. One step kid, my MIL, has passed away. So that leaves his estate between 1 step kid, 1 bio kid, and my MIL's 4 k ids. This will be an epic fuster cluck when he passes away (he, grandpa, estimates 5-8 years left). The S will definitely HTF when estranged step kid realizes what has happened.

I"ll say it again. "do your givin' while you're livin' so you're knowin' where it's goin' "

 

[Hardscrable]

Kind of strikes home as currently have stack of paper work am working on updating our estate plan. First established 20 years ago after burying my brother and father both within 17 months and without any plan in place. Believe me, needing to make burial and funeral plans with in a day or so of losing loved ones is not a good experience. Dividing, disposing of assets has longer time line but still better to be done by the owner than the survivors.
In 20 years much has changed so an update is needed. 2 unmarried sons 40+ years old, no grandchildren. One son is "set" on his own & thus does not need anything from us. Son#2 suffers from form of mental illness...functions well when on meds - when off meds another story. He is highly intelligent & well educated with numerous degrees including masters. However in extreme debt - student loans and consumer debt. Consumer debts are basically a result of years of poor decisions while not medicated ( and not employed because same ). I don't know that I want our estate to go to him and risk what we worked our entire lives to build/save. I know that May sound harsh to some but needs to be considered. Neither son ( or wife ) has any interest in firearms ( and one probably should not have any ) so I am contemplating their disposal along with ammo and all related equipment.

 

[rw496]

Dying suddenly is a blessing. Imagine those who go through extended illnesses and hospital stays. Not only is it exhausting for the family, but financially exhausting for the decedent's estate. Your assets need to be sheltered in trusts, life policies, etc. that pass to the beneficiaries outside the probate process and outside the reach of potential creditors like hospitals, doctors, etc. Personal property technically can be sold in order to satisfy debts of the decedent before passing to heirs. Don't just make a list. I don't think Indiana recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills and if it is contested it would fail. The best thing you can do is consult an attorney and set up a trust. Lots of positives to it..assets are protected and will pass to your beneficiaries ....and you can get NFA items

 

[spec4]

Dying suddenly is a blessing. Imagine those who go through extended illnesses and hospital stays. Not only is it exhausting for the family, but financially exhausting for the decedent's estate. Your assets need to be sheltered in trusts, life policies, etc. that pass to the beneficiaries outside the probate process and outside the reach of potential creditors like hospitals, doctors, etc. Personal property technically can be sold in order to satisfy debts of the decedent before passing to heirs. Don't just make a list. I don't think Indiana recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills and if it is contested it would fail. The best thing you can do is consult an attorney and set up a trust. Lots of positives to it..assets are protected and will pass to your beneficiaries ....and you can get NFA items

Wife and I had wills done recently. House is recorded TOD (transfer on death) to our daughters who get along well and have their heads screwed on right. All liquid assets have daughters as beneficiaries. In our situation a trust doesn't make sense. Kids would dispose of household goods probably via estate sale. That leaves the guns. Creditors not an issue and between Medicare and secondary insurance medical bills not that big a deal. I was thinking of assigning a dollar value to each gun and letting each guy get 1/7th of the dollar value and they could buy each other out to balance it.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Last week my neighbor died suddenly. Great guy. Got me to thinking how quickly you can go and what would happen to my guns when I'm gone. I have two sons in law and five grandsons who are all into firearms. My daughters don't care. I currently have a decent collection of rifles and handguns. Should I leave a list of who gets what or ask them their preferences, or just let them work it out when the time comes? How to make a list of who gets what? Wife is OK with whatever I do as long as I do something.

There are a lot of unanswered questions here. By mentioning both the sons-in-law and the grandsons, I am assuming that you are inclined to leave something to all of them. The monopoly money suggestion is pretty much what my brothers and I have settled out on regarding my dad's estate (although not done yet). Not knowing whether you have 5 guns or 500 of them, I am guessing that you have a good idea what you might sell and what you will permanently keep, and could find out who likes what and put the permanent keepers in the will. If you have a whole lot, you may want to give some of them of which you want to be certain of their arrival at their intended destinations to their intended recipients early, especially if they aren't guns you use.

My thoughts are going to be flavored by my personal experiences. When my grandpa died, grandma (not the one mentioned in another thread but the other grandmother) couldn't get grandpa's guns, coins, and watches sold fast enough, including the things for which I was supposed to have first dibs before selling to an outsider. I did end up with the gun at the top of my list (which I had to pay for) which is the S&W K-22 Grandpa carried when we were out running around the woods, had to buy the pocket watch he carried from the jeweler (who only charged me a $5 markup knowing that I would have paid him double what he paid for it). I doubt that you will have such extreme issues, but I would say that what you do while still alive cannot be undone and there can be no fussing over it. [FYI, I missed out on S&W 66 low s/n no-dashes (unfired w/ boxes and papers) in 6", 4", and 2.5", a Winchester 9422 magnum, an early Remington 870, a Remington 552, and a few other less interesting guns]

If all these people are the kind who get along well and are not prone to drama, simply making up a list may well be adequate. The problem with this kind of advice is that one really has to know all of the people involved in order to give a solid opinion, and even then you may get surprised. When I lost my dad, no real problems, but I did get some surprised, like my usually-responsible brother turning slacker, and the slacker turning hyper-responsible.

All said and done, what you give while still alive cannot be ungiven. What you specify in a will is difficult to circumvent. What you do not do either with is up in the air. Based on the little information available, I am going to recommend that anything you really want to go to someone in particular, you may want to give it to that person at the point you no longer use it. Otherwise, itemizing the collection in your will or doing the monopoly auction should work just fine.

 

[hornadylnl]

One of the great benefits of having only 1 child. Nobody to fight with. She either gets all or none depending on whether she chooses to take a good path in life.

 

[snorko]

I have no children and do not anticipate any. My death will result in a heck of an auction, along with probably some criminal charges, unanswered questions and an urban legend/ballad.

 

[Dargasonus]

I have 2 very young children and a nephew just a little older. It's too early to tell whether any of them will share my passion for guns, but I hope when my time comes one of all of them will be happy to receive some of my collection to enjoy as I have. When my grandfather passed he left several guns to be sorted out, there was really only a few that I held a lot of sentimental value to and that one will be with me until I pass. I never asked for it, our family just doesn't bicker about money and possessions, there are much bigger things that matter in life.

 

[Tim Enyeart]

I have five children and 12 grandchildren. My guns range in value from $1600 to $150. What I tried to do was find their particular likes and dislikes, and divide the weapons in five groups with close to equal value. The child with the most children would receive the most weapons but of less individual value. I have this worked out on paper but would gladly buy another weapon for a grandchild arriving. I do plan on handing them if I'm still around when I can no longer go to the range.

 

[hornadylnl]

How can on go about leaving something to their child and prevent their spouse from ending up with it?

Let's say you leave your married child a nice sum of money and shortly thereafter, their spouse divorces them. What's to keep them from running off with half the money?

 

[MCgrease08]

My father-in-law has purchased at $15-20k worth of guns and ammo over the past 2 years and recently told me he didn't want to make up a will because he doesn't want the 5 kids fighting over the guns.

He also has three houses in his name and he and his sister share ownership of their mother's house. She died more than 15 years ago but he and his sister won't speak to each other, so the house is just rotting away with all the stuff still inside.

It's gonna be a nightmare to work through everything when he goes.

 

[rw496]

How can on go about leaving something to their child and prevent their spouse from ending up with it?

Let's say you leave your married child a nice sum of money and shortly thereafter, their spouse divorces them. What's to keep them from running off with half the money?

Trust with you as trustee while alive and someone else you trust as trustee afterwards to make discretionary distributions.

 

[hornadylnl]

One of my goals is to buy my daughters first house but as long as there is the potential of marriage, the house will have to remain in my name. Not donating half the value to a douche bag. This is the problem I have with marriage.

 

[indiucky]

I have no children and do not anticipate any. My death will result in a heck of an auction, along with probably some criminal charges, unanswered questions and an urban legend/ballad.

I have actually started on the ballad...It's okay so far and I am trying to work in a little buck dancing at the end.....

 

[CitiusFortius]

Ask who wants what, and whoever starts arguing gets nothing. Give them all to the children who are sad at the thought of you dying.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

If any of you child-less INGOers are looking for a willed recipient for your firearms... I know a guy. Ahem.

 

[churchmouse]

My collection is a living entity. It is in constant flux. Not sure what I will have a week from now...

I have a dear and trusted friend that is going to take everything I have and sell them off. The money will go to my wife if she is alive. If not it will go to my Daughter and she will disperse as she sees fit. Right now she is the only one I would really trust to do what is needed.
I might leave 1 or 2 to my SIL. The rest get sold.