garysport[at]aol.comjk.net (GarySport) wrote:
- quote -

I agree that your idea of a notarized "gift letter" for
these items. It may never be needed, but would be available
to show to any heirs questioning the disposition of such
items.

A few years ago, I was executor of my mother's estate. In
inventorying the contents of her home, I found numerous
"stashes" of such coin and jewelry items. Most of these had
only intrinsic value, but a few pieces (family heirlooms)
were worth enough to get formal appraisal. Fortunately, I
had a jeweler friend locally, who could provide that
information and documentation at reasonable cost.

All in all, probably more time was spent in documenting this
small part of her estate than the other 95% (investments,
banks, and house). Disposition was accomplished by getting
the heirs (my sisters) together and have them choose which
items they wanted, using the appraisals and estimates to
determine the value of their choices. Fortunately, there
were few disagreements :-)

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- quote -

As Executor, I would be required to liquidate everything and
divide the proceeds among the heirs. And the only way to
divide the coin value would be to get an appraisal, which
would likely cost more than the value of the odd coins and
jewelry, as well as a 90-mile trip to find someone to do it,
and then find someone to actually buy them (which might be
harder than getting the actual appraisal). I can probably
get a current coin book and arrive at a reasonable estimate
of the coin worth. I know that it would be easier approach
to name the few coins and jewelry as specific bequests in
the Will, but I can't see him being interested in or wanting
to pay the legal fees to change the Will. Which is why we
thought it might be simpler to simply write an affidavit and
give them to me now. Probably in a family situation people
would oten just say after death, why don't you take the
coins, and I'll take the sofa, etc.and work it out that way.
One of the heirs is non-family which might make things a
little more complicated, and require strict division of
every little item, i.e. liquidation. But unless distributed
early, the items would still have to be listed in the estate
inventory at appraised value, which means going through all
the hoops above. Seems like many people would have odds
and ends like that in their safety box; a few old silver
coins, etc, that they've thrown in there from time to time,
and I can't see the majority of them running around getting
them appraised at death, and then some dealer offering half
price for them. You spend 3-4 days doing it and end up with
a few bucks for each heir. Oh well, I guess the executor can
count all those days and trips as executor expense, which
might encompass the total value of the items.

Thanks!
GS

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Herb Smith wrote:

- quote -

I may have misunderstood this last question. If he gifted
me the items, he realizes they are irrevocably mine, and I
could do with them whatever I wanted to; and he's willing
for me to have them in lieu of the other heirs. (I'm the
one who routinely checks on him and helps him with any
problems that he has come up.) By giving them to me directly
they would not have to be appraised in an estate inventory
(for probate, tax purposes, etc.) or liquidated, and should
be well below the Gift Tax limit. His gross estate is well
below the taxable liimit. He would write a notarized
affidavit, in case someone ever said "What did Uncle Joe
ever do with Aunt Susie's wedding ring and jewelry?" so that
no one could say that as Executor I just took them. As it
is now, if he were to die, I would have to appraise and
liquidate them for equal division among the heirs, which may
be little value after the expenses I outlined earlier.

GS

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garysport[at]aol.comjk.net (GarySport) wrote:

- quote -

If he wants to gift them to you at this time, there is
nothing stopping him from doing so. The value is under
$11,000, so there are no current or future tax ramifications
for him or you. If your estimates are reasonably correct, or
can be corroborated by a local jeweler or coin dealer, there
is no need for a third-party appraisal. What does this gift
have to do with his Will or estate? Does he expect you to
liquidate them and divide the proceeds among the other heirs
after he is dead?

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I will be the executor of my elderly uncle's estate at some
time in the future. The estate will be divided among 4
heirs. The estate is not sizable and will not be subject to
fed estate tax. My uncle has his late wife's modest jewelry
and some old coins that he wants to give to me rather than
have them pass thru the Will. He's not a coin collector and
over the years he had just thrown some random old coins
(buffalo nickels, a few of the "real" silver dollars, etc,
few Indian head pennies) into a box as many people may be
prone to do. I would guess that the value of coins is less
than $1000. Likewise, his wife's jewelry is not very
elaborate or expensive. He was a school teacher, she a
housewife. A generous guess would be less than $4,000 FMV.
If he gives me these items now, will he be required to do an
appraisal? He would have to drive 90 miles to a large city
and walk in with a handful of coins and some odd assortment
of jewelry. One reason he wants to give them to me is that
he realizes that it would be troublesome to liquidate them
and divide them among the 4 heirs. Any suggestions on how
people with small estates handle these items of less than
lavish value for gift tax purpose? It seems like it would
almost certainly be well under the $11,000 annual exclusion.
Thanks.

Gary

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