A morbid thought about the workshop.

[dbhost]

Not sure how much folks follow what's going on with my family, but a reminder. I got VERY quiet online as I was dealing with a good number of deaths in the extended family, and we are still dealing with the estate fallout of that.

Well that has given my wife a huge case of the heebie jeebies. We are roughly the same age, and as women tend to outlive men, she has gotten concerned that she won't know what to do with the shop after I am gone, nor how to value any of it.

I had a running tally of what is in the shop, and what the actual purchase price was. And no I didn't lie on it to keep the wife from being mad, she more or less supports the shop stuff as long as I get projects out of there she wants... I.E. her clock, cutting board, and even though we are not Jewish, she likes Menorahs... a LOT... And a project that she packed away already I should have posted, A wooden Advent candle wreath. But I digress.

The problem was the document was a spreadsheet in Excel, and included photos so she knew what the things actually were. And it included a LOT of items that have since been sold, broken, replaced etc... I.E. the Shop Vac 2.5" ducting system that I sold years ago, was still on there...

And the worst part, I moved it to Google Sheets.

Only to find out after I deleted the original xlsx file that google sheets did NOT carry over the images...

So I have to ask you guys, and gals of course for some advice on this issue.

Since we don't have kids of our own, and our nieces and nephews are at the youngest now in their 30s, and if they have ANY interest in woodworking (there are 2) they already have their own shops equipped and have been recieving tools and equipment from me for years...

So that leaves the question of how can I inventory this stuff so that whomever comes after me, assuming my wife outlives me, doesn't cheat her on the value of this stuff when she goes to inevitably liquidate it, which I know she will do. It's of no use to her, and again, I have no one as an heir that would have any interest in it, I would rather see it liquidated and gone to someone or several someones that would appreciate the equipment and give my wife some liquid capital to make her time after me easier...

Mind you, God willing we have decades to go before we are in that position, but we are never guaranteed even the next moment, so I just want to at least take that bit of stress off of her...

[Jim Frye]

When my parents passed 1,200 miles from me, their trust (bank) had their estate appraised by a local appraiser. The detailed inventory was very undervalued based on what I knew. Very little of what they left was of much value to me, so I let things stand. What I did want was so undervalued that no one cared what I had sent to me (only heir). The trust sold everything else, plus the house, car, and golf cart and the proceeds became part of the financial estate. My point is that lacking any documentation, your estate might be less than what it would be.

[capncarl]

It is sad to see the way that a lot of estates are “liquidated” by using estate sales. I have personally seen a lot of these sales in my area, but I can assure you that the prices are not undervalued by the estate sales, they use 10% below Ebay.

Regardless how much you like using the computer for your spreadsheets, at the time your wife needs to view them she might not have good access to them, might not be in a good frame of mind, might have lost the records, can’t remember the password or any number of reasons why not. I would suggest that you get the list and photos updated and PRINT several copies and keep in several safe places. You can periodically updated the list. It won’t hurt you to physically mark out ,and rewrite, make new lists and additional information and photos without it being on a computer!

Another wise man says….. when I die I hope my wife doesn’t sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them.

[capncarl]

My mother was 5 years young than my father. She, like your wife, got the heebie jeebies about my fathers 2500 sf greenhouse full of prize winning camellias and various other plants and flowers. He also collected and cut large rocks with geode centers. She fretted about how she would be able to take care of and dispose of all of his hobbies. This went on for several years and he finally just gave up and disposed of all of his plants and most of his rock collection. Then she died. Fooled him huh? She died at 81 and he lived on to 99. He lived 18 long years without the rocks and flowers that he had worked all of his life to collect and nurture. I’m sure that if he had known it would end like this he wouldn’t have been so quick to get rid of his hobbies.

Have some confiden that your wife, children and heirs will find some way of disposing of your stuff!

[dbhost]

My mother was 5 years young than my father. She, like your wife, got the heebie jeebies about my fathers 2500 sf greenhouse full of prize winning camellias and various other plants and flowers. He also collected and cut large rocks with geode centers. She fretted about how she would be able to take care of and dispose of all of his hobbies. This went on for several years and he finally just gave up and disposed of all of his plants and most of his rock collection. Then she died. Fooled him huh? She died at 81 and he lived on to 99. He lived 18 long years without the rocks and flowers that he had worked all of his life to collect and nurture. I’m sure that if he had known it would end like this he wouldn’t have been so quick to get rid of his hobbies.

Have some confiden that your wife, children and heirs will find some way of disposing of your stuff!

Well, my wife is my only heir. My ex wife made sure kid didn't happen there, and health issues with my beautiful bride now has kept children at bay for us... Although we are rushing through a remodel in hopes to foster to adopt. Of course there was this Abraham guy I heard about whose whife had a child at an advanced age... However I think I will skip the Hagar part..., not my style...

Seriously though, my best bet for an heir at this point might just be my God son, awesome little kid, even though his Dad is friends with me :-D

However that one will likely get my hunting / fishing / camping gear.

My oldest brothers kids will likely get my guitars, amps that stuff. Although at my wake, I want a display with my P bass, my old Coleman stove, and my favorite Dozuki saw and a couple of clamps on a stand by the box...

I know morbid thought, and God willing not one I will need to worry about for a VERY long time, but, well with all this estate crap going on with my in laws, again my wife has it on the brain really bad...

[Condoman44]

I did my own obituary after attending a service for a cousin that did his own. I occasionally look at it to see if it still works as desired.

My sibs had no interest in my Fathers tools so I ended up with them. I kept some and sold others.

I use Excel to manage the inventory of everything we have. There are links to pictures for clarity of some items. It is for insurance and a beginning valuation of anything we have. The inventory is copied to Google Drive with pictures on my local drive. All this is documented in my obit with a paper copy in my desk. The 3 page IYRT (If Your Reading This) document spells out all income and expense accounts. I have tried to document it all and will never know if I did.

Some of this preparation is a result of dealing with my Fathers estate. I have tried to prevent that same issue when I depart.

It never hurts to be prepared.

[twistsol]

I consider myself fortunate. My daughters know what is in my shop and how to use and maintain nearly all of it. I have no concerns about the future of my tools and hope that it isn't an issue for decades to come. That said, there is an inventory in Excel of tools >$100 on my computer, along with links to life insurance and all financial stuff as well as some personal stuff to communicate to various people.

I had to help deal with my In-Laws house and garage a few years ago. They were both packrats with a basement full of obsolete electronics and collectable knick knacks. , garage full of rusted and neglected tools, hardware from salvaged projects, thousands of dollars of HAM radio stuff which we gave to a couple of his buddies. Of course our kids know about the thousands of books we have that they will eventually have to deal with.

Based purely on family history, I should outlive my wife by 20 or more years. Based on my uncanny ability to fall off anything more than a couple of feet high, get hit by cars, slip on the ice, and fall down the stairs, all bets are off.

When you are dead, you don't know you're dead, you just are. You are a burden to the people around you who have to take care of everything, clean up your messes, and get everything in order. You are unable to help. The same applies if you're stupid.

[cwsmith]

Not sure of your ages, but as I recall from some earlier posts, I believe I'm a bit older than many of you guys. I'm now facing a few tests, a couple of biopsies, and too many MRI's over the next few weeks, and at nearly 78 I am somewhat concerned with my state of being.

I'm facing your concerns with regards to things that I have accumulated over the decades and have come to the reality that practically nothing I own in the way of tools, hobbies, books, and other objects that I hold personally valuable, will be of little more than rummage to anyone else. There's really not much I can do about that, and frankly at that point I won't be around, so what difference does it make.

At present, I'm not going to be selling stuff off or giving it away. What I have done and will continue to do, is list the stuff I have, when I bought it, what I paid for it, and what I think it's valued price might be. With some tools, I'm also noting what I made with it or used it for. While most of that is currently logged either in the computer or in a spiral binder listing, I'm currently consolidating it into my computer achives, like all of my other past reccords. The objecfive is to make things as easy as possible for my family. But also keep in mind that you just might feel the urge, and the energy, to get up some morning when you are 95 and go make a nice sidepiece to hold your favorite beveridge, and on which you can display your picture, everybody's favorite Grandpa!

Having things just in the computer isn't going to work for many of us, unless of course your spouse is equally versed. So, I think having a hard copy of everything goes a long way to ease the situation for your family. But even with that, what you may have once held dear, may well be of little value to your family.

While some things were difficult to deal with, there was also the reality that what a passing loved one might wish certain people to have, they simply may not want or have room for when your time comes. A good example of that, was the dining room set that my late inlaws bought in the 80's. Beautiful set, in dark walnut, three-leaf table, eight uphostered chairs, a lovely china with curved glass panels, and two side peices, including the buffet that Dad used as a liquer cabinet. Mom wanted her son to have it, but as he said, "what am I going to do with it, it doesn't match anything that we have in our house and what was she thinking, "that I'd wait 50 years to get a dining room set?" We couldn't give it away and none of the local used furniture places wanted it... "No one wants that kind of furniture today".

Subsequently, we left it in the house. The young, just married, and expecting couple that bought the house got it almost completely furnished.!

Such is the way with tools I think. There's fewer of that kind of craft people and especially woodworkers today than there has been in past decades. If they are enthusiastic, they probably already have most of what they want. If they're new they may well want their toolls to be new as well. I look at my favorite tools and sadly have to admit to myself that my RAS is probably NOT wanted by anyone, my BT... well I don't see a lot of opportunity there either; and I doubt that anyone clamoring for my Narex chisels, and dozens of other hand tools. Ther may be a market for my restored Stanley #3 Baily, but how many of those are already out there on E-Bay?

So I guess you either give them away while you're still lively enough to do so, or you simply talk to your kids and grandkids and in the process explain the story behind them if they give you a chance. Hopefully though, just enjoy them while you are alive enough to do so, but make a list with their possible value. At least the list will identify the unknowing what they are, and it will give the Appairsor something to chuckle about as he throws them on the "everything for $20 or less table".

CWS

[dbhost]

Not sure of your ages, but as I recall from some earlier posts, I believe I'm a bit older than many of you guys. I'm now facing a few tests, a couple of biopsies, and too many MRI's over the next few weeks, and at nearly 78 I am somewhat concerned with my state of being. ...

To say the least you have a few seasons on me for sure.

Without being too specific as the security suckers out there want as much personal information as they can get, what I can tell you for sure is I am at the age where both mine and my wifes fathers have passed on somewhat recently enough that we are dealing with estate issues and the in laws on a nearly daily basis.

My father did not leave much if any estate that is not presently in use by my step mother. And to be blunt, my middle brother has been there for Dad and step mom, being the only one of us that never left the region where they lived. I do not want my Dads assets. What things I was interested in I have, or Dad liquidated sometime back in the 90s so no real issue. Although it would have been nice to inherit his 1950s Craftsman lathe and table saw...

I have a project I need to do somewhat soonish, and that is to create a memory box for some of the items he gifted me with a write up of why they are important.

But I digress.

My late father in law failed to leave a valid will, one of th siblings in law wrote up a will for him and had him sign it when he was already in advanced dementia, the whole estate thing there is a terrible mess.

My wife and I both have our health issues, so no telling who will live longer, BUT... if I go before her, I do NOT want any of the estate stress being on her.

That is my whole issue. I want to leave her taken care of as best I can.

[LCHIEN]

The problem with a list documenting all your stuff and your idea of perceived value is that you have a high regard for your stuff, or you would not have bought it. Placing a (to you) realistic value on it will reflect your opinion and not the market opinion where value is a matter of age, replacement costs, and scarcity and demand.
If your value is too high then you leave a legacy of your heirs always feeling like they got ripped off when they go and sell it,

Probably the best thing to do is simply point them at someone or someplace you think they will get an honest deal and/or indicate items of unusual and not obvious high value (such as a collector edition) so they can be aware it is more valuable than meets the eye.

I always laugh at the mental image of a person worried that his tools will be sold for pennies on the dollar, placing yellow post it notes on every item in the shop listing its list price, price paid and current used condition and value.