Shenkman Law

April 1, 2021

Every estate includes tangible personal property: cash, clothes, jewelry, furnishings, vehicles, pets, artwork, gold, alcohol, boats, electronics, cars, wine, guns, etc. Challenges you may face are as varied as the assets involved. This practical webinar will discuss critical planning, drafting, and tax considerations of planning for tangibles. The emotional aspects of tangible property can lead to family disputes. Second, third and later marriages, and blended families, make it important to consider how bequest of tangibles are addressed. What steps can you take to minimize these issues? Rights of first refusal, lottery dispositions, online resources, dispute resolution mechanisms, and more will be discussed. Does the right for a beneficiary to take an item apply to a single item or to a collection as an item? Title to tangibles can raise challenges. Was an item on loan or gifted? What if the family business, not the client, purchased the item? Was title transferred to a trust? Is the disposition covered by a prenuptial agreement? How can you help clients address valuable items that do not have title records? What is “provenance” and how should practitioners help clients document it? What are some of the income and transfer tax considerations of planning for personal property? How may shipping, insurance and other costs be addressed? How may trusts be used to own tangibles and what issues might that raise? What types of records should practitioners guide clients to create? Is a professional home inventory worthwhile? The panel will provide perspectives of an estate planner, trust and estate litigator, wealth advisor and auction house to assure in depth and practical guidance on this topic. Speakers: Kim Kamin, Esq. Gresham Partners, LLC; Sandra Glazier, Esq., Lipson Neilson PC; Roberta Kramer, Heritage Auctions; and Martin Shenkman, Esq. Sponsor: Peak Trust Company and Interactive Legal