The Importance of Understanding the Value and Planning for Passion Assets

For those who are passionate about something, no matter what that is, it can be very challenging for anyone else to understand. Passion assets are investments or luxury collectibles that hold personal and / or emotional value, not just financial value. Whether it is art, jewelry, vehicles or something else that you have in your possession, these assets are not easy to pass on to your heirs. As you consider your assets, Will and long-term objectives, planning for passion assets can be critical.

At The Siegel Law Group, our Estate Planning Attorneys can help you make decisions about how to protect and pass along these assets. Contact us for a consultation to discuss all of your Estate Planning goals.

Types of Passion Assets

Passion assets are types of high-value items that maintain and grow in value over time. These are often luxury collectibles or items that are rare. Over time, you will likely need to sell them or pass them along to others. Some examples of passion assets include:

• Super cars
• Luxury vehicles
• Art
• Colored or large diamonds and jewels
• Handbags of high value
• Limited edition watches or jewelry
• Coins
• Fine wines and whisky

Passion assets can include all types of hard and soft commodities. They can include hedge funds and private equity as well as tangible investments you make. These are assets you are specifically passionate about and believe are precious in value.

Decisions Regarding Passion Assets

Every person has to make decisions about what to do with any asset unless they simply let the court do that for them by not putting in place Wills or Trusts. That is never wise. The better decision is to ensure you have a plan for how you wish to use these passion assets during your lifetime and after you are gone.

Considering the Next Generation

One of the most challenging factors about passion assets is that, while you can pass along those assets, passing along the passion for them is far more challenging and even rarer. Before making any decisions about your assets, you may wish to have a frank and open conversation with your family members about who you would like to inherit these assets. Consider the following:

• Is there any interest in those assets by your heirs? You may wish to address any specific desires they have or do not have in these areas.
• Do you wish to split up your collection? There are some collections worth more because they are so large. Splitting them up could impact value.
• If you do decide to gift these assets to someone in your family, is there any concern for equitable division of other assets for other members of your family?

If you have more than one heir as a collector it is critical to make these decisions so that there is some level of understanding of your objectives and desires before your death. Otherwise, these types of valuable assets can cause significant rifts in the lives of those you leave behind.

Leaving a Legacy

Some people do not have someone within their family who is interested or desires to inherit these types of collections. You may know that passing them on to heirs would lead to those assets’ demise. An alternative option may be to leave a legacy. Leaving these assets behind to groups or organizations that could value them and maintain them can give you peace of mind. Consider the following examples:

• A collection of rare baseball memorabilia from the 1960s could be a notable asset for a local organization or the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
• An art gallery may be poised to provide a wing dedicated to you for your collection of art pieces after your death.
• Your college university may benefit from your giving of rare books or historical collections.

It is necessary to consider the objectives of that organization as well as their ability to provide the right level of protection for these assets. This may require, for example, ample insurance to protect these valuables or special facilities dedicated to them.

Planning Giving

For some people, dispersing of these assets during their lifetime is desirable. There are various ways you can do this. For example, you may wish to leave behind a component of your assets to specific people each year. This could help to reduce some taxation on these high-valued assets.

For others, the goal may be to sell these items to those who are most interested in them for a high dollar amount. This could allow you to convert the assets into financial assets you can use to help fund your retirement.

In these situations, it is beneficial to work with your Estate Planning Attorneys to create a plan for how to manage these goals. Take into consideration:

• Your need for income during your lifetime
• Tax implications of selling now or passing them on
• The best strategies for gifting your assets over time to minimize estate taxes on high-value collections

By meeting with your South Florida Estate Planning Attorneys, you gain insight into what each of your options may be. This will depend on the actual type of assets as well as factors like your financial health as well as your desired long-term goals. Your passion assets are quite valuable to you, and making these decisions now with legal guidance can help give you Peace Of Mind about something you worked so hard to build throughout your lifetime.

Call THE South Florida Estate Planning Attorneys – The Siegel Law Group

If you have art, cars, watches, jewelry or other valuable collectibles, you likely have a passion collection that needs careful management not just during your lifetime but after your death as well. With the help of your Estate Planning Attorneys, you can make better decisions about how these assets will continue to benefit you and others even after your death. Discuss these needs and concerns with us today.

Call our office at (561) 955-8515(561) 955-8515 to schedule a complimentary consultation, or submit our online contact form to schedule a consultation today. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.