A slightly morbid question

[terrysoham]

Hi,
I wondered whether I might pose a question that has been niggling at me for a while.
Let me explain, this year I will be 70 and I have lots of stock and a portable layout.  The layout may only be worth something for the salvage but the stock is worth a bob or two.
When I die, I would not wish my wife or children to have to worry about disposing of these items and therefore I was intending to write a letter to my club asking them whether they would dispose of the layout and stock and put any monies towards club funds.   
Has anyone else any experience of what I am suggesting and would they please care to share it.
By the way, I am hoping that this will not need an imminent answer - I am feeling quite well at the moment!
Sorry if this offends anyone's sensibilities but I felt that it might be a good idea to see what others think.
Kind regards

[dannyboy]

Being just a few years younger than you Terry, (can count them on one hand  ), - a good question to ask. I too would be interested in the answers.

[Dorsetmike]

I'm  a bit further on  (82) but have similar thoughts, I've been contemplating leaving stock etc to the area group and/or the N gauge society, maybe group members to have a chance to buy for a nominal fee, say £5 per coach, £25 per loco, proceeds to group funds  any stock left over to go to NGS.

[martyn]

At one time, under previous management, the Society shop used to buy the stock in such cases, and it went into the Second Hand part of the shop.
I doubt if this is now available.
A number of firms advertise in the model railway press as buying second hand, including complete layouts; but I rather like Mike's idea of leaving it to the Area Group and let them have first dibs and sell the rest.
Martyn

[Chetcombe]

Having lost my mother recently, I had to dispose of my late father's layout (we had kept it for the grandkids to enjoy). Of all my mother's possessions, the layout was the most difficult for us to dispose of / find a home for. It was situated in a large garden shed and represented probably thousands of hours of work, so we wanted to find some use for it. I took some pieces (difficult as I live an ocean away) and we put a few items aside for the grandkids, but we struggled to find a home for the rest. The local model rail societies were not interested in even seeing it, which surprised me. In the end a friend of my mother's tracked down someone who had helped dad with the wiring and he thankfully dismantled and took it to help create his own layout.

In summary, you will save your family a huge headache if you can make arrangements whilst you still can!!!

[Snowwolflair]

As a club Chairman of several clubs railway and model boat clubs, we regularly receive models from wives of ex members or their estates.  Generally the proceeds of a club auction or second hand stall sale of these items are donated to charities - in many cases the hospice or similar aid group assisting the former member.

Having said that some models we are offered are of too great a value and in these circumstances we recommend getting professional advice.

My belief is that a letter is fine as long as the partner knows about it and is in agreement.

[Newportnobby]

"Comment" in February's Railway Modeller indeed has an article on this very subject.
My will contains strict instructions as to what proceeds from what go where as far as all my railway stuff goes. I do feel a bit sorry for the person who has to sell it all, though!

[Bealman]

I have three daughters, and they're all very smart.

I'm going to leave them to work it out 

[Steven B]

I my will, my models, tools etc get left to my nearest and dearest. I'm under no illusion that they'd want to keep anything but a couple of models. To help them in the event of my death I have a "Letter of Wishes" along side my will.

It gives names and contact details of a couple of my modelling friends who I trust to help my family dispose of my models without getting ripped off.

Your family will have enough to cope with in the event of your death. Providing them with information about who to contact and together with details such as bank account numbers will make their life a lot easier.

Happy modelling.

Steven B.

[cycletrak9]

I was an accountant, not a lawyer, but over the course of my career I regularly worked with the legal profession to assist in winding up deceased estates.

There are two ways of dealing with this situation; the first is to make a specific bequest of the items in the will [we have all made a will haven't we?] naming the beneficiary. It is best to name alternative beneficiaries in case the primary beneficiary no longer exists. As an example, model railway clubs can dissolve, or merge with others.  Alternatively the instructions can be given in a separate letter, normally referred to as a "Letter of Wishes" which is kept with the will document.

The difference between the two methods is that a specific bequest is binding on the executor whereas the letter has no force in law but, in my experience is usually followed by the person dealing with the estate.

I appreciate that there may be estates below the appropriate threshold where Probate will not need to be obtained but a simple will/letter will make it clear what is to happen to the cherished layout after our demise.[And, of course, any other items which might otherwise be squabbled over by those who are left behind].

Mike 

[Newportnobby]

Once I was informed in late 2015 that I was headed for a triple bypass operation I put together a ring binder file with everything my rellies would need to know, starting with the obvious will but then adding where the money is, pension details, insurances, latest utility bills, some contact details for friends etc - in fact, everything I thought they might need to make the task easier.
I still keep this file up to date as we just don't know what is around the corner

[Malc]

Having recently sorted out Peter Carles Fagg's railway items,with Dave G it is not a small problem. Peter had not got very far building his layout, which was therefore less of an issue. His stock however took a long time to sort out. He kept his stock in 3 large foam lined boxes, but kept most of the original boxes. His instructions of what to do with the proceeds were clear, so no problems there. I managed to sell some items via this forum, but the majority was catalogued, photographed and sold to KJB. They offered me a fair price as they had not seen the kit, only the descriptions and photos. We could have got more selling individual items, but it would have taken some considerable time, many months plus the effort of packaging and posting. So a couple of things I found out and will be practicing myself.
1) make a detailed list of what you have.
2) keep locos in their original packing (or at least keep the original packing safe)
3) pick someone who knows n gauge models to do the selling
4) clear instructions of how to apportion the proceeds.

[daffy]

My wife and I finally made our wills just last year and will be adding a Letter of Wishes. We have already spoken to our children, who are the beneficiaries, about many items that we suspect they won't want personally, which we would like to go to good homes.

When my wife's parents both died within a month of each other some years ago there was no will, and though sorting out the legal and financial bits was relatively straightforward, disposing of the tremendous amount of goods and chattels was very difficult.  Firstly the sheer volume that had to be gone through, even though her father had already cleared the attic. It is a heart-rending process and not one I would wish on others, but at some time most of us have to go through it.
Secondly was the time frame: as they had lived in a Council House for the last decades of their lives, I was astonished to find that everything had to be cleared out ready for the new tenants "within the next 10 days"! By "cleared out" they meant EVERYTHING, from garden sheds (3 of them), a Stannah stair lift, and all furniture etc, and we had to ensure the house was clean at the end of it all. Suffice to say we were exhausted at the end of the process.

The volume of work may not have been greatly diminished by a Will, but there were some odd and scattered notes that were clearly expressions of wishes, and these helped emotionally, and to quite some degree, practically.

When you die, as we all will, it is a tremendously emotional time for those we leave behind in most cases. Making it simpler for those that follow is surely a duty, and if we can we should ensure that our cherished items get given to those that will appreciate them the most, rather than, say at worst, the house clearance experts or the local rubbish tip; or perhaps just put in a cupboard or shed at a descendents home and essentially forgotten about. These latter items then may get rediscovered at another bereavement many years hence and, now with little or no emotional attachment, go to car boot sales, eBay, or the tip.

And not all die with descendents, then all we own, all we cherish, without a Will or any other legally binding declaration, enters the pit of intestacy.

Thanks for starting this thread @terrysoham . It's in no way morbid. It is good common sense, even though we may know nothing about what follows once we pass on. For me and my wife at least, it matters.

Now, where's that Letter of Wishes we never quite finished..........

[Byegad]

I belong to a Wargames  club. Well actually we recreate historic battles on a table top and emphatically do not play toy soldiers, honest!

One of our ex members died in 2015 and at our Show we sold his stock of figures on our bring and buy stall. The club waived its usual 10% and the widow received several hundred pounds of unexpected cash. Club members and other gamers will continue to enjoy his collection for year to come.

[Snowwolflair]

A true story about how post death planning is important.


A friend of mine who comes from Australia lost his mother in law some years ago, being in Scotland the funeral was the full works. 

A few weeks later his father in law died and his wife distraught at the second loss asked to keep the funeral simple and hold it at their house.

My friend with a house in chaos jumped into action and phoned the local skip company saying "my father in law has just died can you send round a skip"

to which the reply came back "I'm not sure what you do in Australia but in Scotland when someone dies we normally call an undertaker".