What Will Happen to Your Collection when You Die?

I was scrolling through Facebook the other day when I stumbled upon a post in a Star Wars collecting group. The author wanted to know if anyone made plans for what should happen to their collection after they die. The man included a photo showing part of his collection. He also shared what he wants done with his collection after he dies.

He wrote the following:

You can’t see it all, but this room is filled with collectibles… wall to wall, floor to ceiling. Something like $50k worth of stuff in this room altogether.

I have 5 kids…and my plan in my will is this:

– Each child (beginning with the eldest) gets to take turns picking 1 item at a time until they are all divided up amongst them.

– If they do not want the collectibles, then they have to sell them. They are not allowed to give them away, donate them or trash them.

– Whatever cash they get from the sales is theirs to do with what they want.

That’s it tho… I might request 1 or 2 to be buried with me… but if I’m being cremated, then never mind 😂 no reason to burn a good figure

So far, they all seem ok with my wishes, but at the same time, I kinda think a lot of this will get sold before I go. Just gotta wait and see I guess

There’s a lot to unpack here. Before I do, here is a photo of his collection:

First of all, I’m not sure what he has going on is a collection. A collection is something you curate and put together. This looks to me that he just bought every single Star Wars action figure released in the last 10 years and hung them on his walls.

Collecting vs Hoarding

I’ve seen similar “collection” photos posted online. They always show walls covered with recently released action figures or diecast vehicles. These photos always make me wonder what the difference is between collecting and hoarding. Is there a difference? I think when an entire wall is covered with so-called collectibles, it’s difficult to see each item individually. When you visit a museum, you don’t see items jammed together. You always see space separating each item.

I think if you have a massive collection of something, you should only display five to 10 items at a time. You can rotate what five to ten items on display. Anything more just becomes too much to take it.

Secondly, making his five kids go through something like a fantasy football draft to divy up his Star Wars stuff sounds like a terrible thing to do. He doesn’t mention if his children even enjoy Star Wars or collecting. If they do like collecting Star Wars action figures, his plan has the potential to cause strife amongst his children. The man doesn’t mention if he’s married or not. I would think upon his death, his wife would automatically become the owner of his Star Wars stuff since because of community property, she already owns half of everything he has.

If the children don’t want his Star Wars stuff, they aren’t allowed to give the stuff away or dispose of any of it. I’m not sure that’s how it works. You can do whatever you want with your property once it’s your property. What if one of the children donates their share of the collection to Goodwill, who is going to stop them for doing it?

In Conclusion

My wife and I had the unenviable task of liquidating a family member’s stuff after they died. It sucked. Not only was it a lot of work, we felt obligated to contact other family members far and wide before we disposed of anything. In the case of this Star Wars collector, he should decide where all of his junk will go before he dies. He shouldn’t put an extra burden on his children. Speaking of burden, who’s going to patch also those holes in his wall?

Personally, I truly don’t care what happens to the stuff I collect after I die. Why should I? I will be dead.