I don’t want my wife to sell for what I told her they cost. Past 70 best sell off anything you don’t use or have any emotional attachment to.

William

Damnedest thing though,
The cumulative value of my guns hasn’t diminished even though the sum total has.

I just attended a seminar on Gun Trusts and general gun law put on by David Goldman, a lawyer in Jacksonville and he was great. www.JacksonvilleLawyer.pro Small PSA.

A trust set up properly will avoid probate and insure your wishes are carried out. My investments and life insurance have named beneficiaries so no issue there, the real estate and vehicles are jointly owned so once again no issue. I have been selling off a few guns mostly the M70 collection but have reinvested that into other high quality guns. I'm in the process of doing a trust just for the guns. It includes a rough estimate of value in today's market who to contact for disposal and who NOT to contact. I have included language for the passing of Gunner's gun to a friend who has a young son coming up in the ranks and maybe someday he will be sitting in a grouse camp telling his friends about Gunner's gun and an old guy called C.O.B. :)

I fail to see the difference between a gun collection and garden tools. There is no paper on either and either can be sold at a yard sale. Refer to John Davis' post.

I completed my Living Trust last May, and the purpose is mainly to keep squabbling down on who gets what. But I was told that probate is a non-issue; one of the benefits of a trust. I left my guns out because I'm probably going to sell many over the next few years. One person gets all my personal property, and there is no list to amend all the time.

I've seen the mess personally. When my dad passed away, his (second) wife parted everything out in a big yard sale. I had things stored in the garage at the time (I was in the military living out of state) and I actually had to buy a few of my own things back that were given to me by my grandfather. I'm not kidding. They were just some antiques that had no real value, but it really lit me on fire to pay 50 bucks for my own stuff. Thank God dad had the sense to put the guns in the will, or I wouldn't have any of them.

After seeing that mess, a family friend called his kids together, they discussed the situation and decided who wanted what guns...and they got them right then and there. Then he went out and bought a new 30-06 to hunt with and had piece of mind that everyone was happy.

Food for thought...