Page 16 - The Jewish Voice - April '25

Page 16, The Jewish Voice

LiFestyLes

• Get a professional appraisal. Obtain professional
Estate Planning for Collectors out pursuing a passion they never expected to get rich from, appraisals to find out the current market value of what you
Like collectors, many of the most famous artists started
and Hobbyists only to have their works later sold for a small fortune. own, including the final product and the equipment and
While he was alive, Vincent van Gogh sold a single raw materials used to make it. For example, if you have a
By Anné Desormier- painting in 1890 for a meager 400 francs, or about $2,670 shop where you make furniture, get the furniture and the
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Cartwright, JD, Esq. in today’s U.S. dollars. In 1990, one of his paintings sold woodworking machinery appraised. Hobbyists might have
Americans often prefer to for $83 million at auction. vintage or rare supplies and materials, such as reclaimed
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stay busy. When we are not Then there’s fashion icon Coco Chanel, whose wood, which can also be valuable.
working, many of us turn to inspiration to design clothes for women out of practical • Talk to your family. A common estate planning
hobbies to keep us engaged necessity launched one of the world’s best-known clothing mistake is to put everything in writing but never discuss
and productive. We spend brands. Her first fashion success came from a dress she made your plans with the people who will be affected by them.
hours each day on our hobbies from an old jersey. Today, the Chanel brand is valued at For example, your loved ones might be aware that you
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and leisure activities. Over around $20 billion. 11 wrote in your spare time or have a large book collection,
the course of a lifetime, this but do they appreciate how much these works mean to you?
time adds up to a significant Protecting and Preserving Your Passion Do they know what inspired your love of the written word,
investment. Most of us may not reach the heights of Van Gogh, Irsay, your personal journey with it, and how it helped to define
Our hobbies, passion projects, and pursuits may also Platt, or Chanel in our hobbyist or artistic pursuits. However, you? Unless you share these details with others, the things
represent large investments of money, resources, and emotions. that does not mean our passions are without value and that that were the most personally meaningful to you might be
Therefore, they should often be included in an estate plan. we should not take steps to ensure our sweat equity is an regarded by your loved ones as just more stuff they must
Whether you are a collector of classic cars or comic investment in our legacy. go through when you die.
books, an artist or craftsperson with a studio full of valuable Estate planning is essential not only for financial and • Decide how to distribute. Do you want to give what
equipment, a musician who owns prized instruments, or family considerations but also for those with serious, you have in its entirety to a single person, divide it among
someone who never outgrew their vintage toys and board lifelong projects. The things that define you in life can multiple loved ones, donate it to charity, or sell it — or do
games, estate planning helps to preserve your cherished continue to define you in death when you plan properly. you prefer some combination of these options? Your decision
items and make them part of your legacy. Here are some steps you can take now so that your loved will be based on the items themselves and whether there is
ones know exactly what to do with the things that matter anybody who might want them. A family member or friend
Hobbies Growing in Importance to Americans most to you. with the same interests might be a good fit. A loved one who
We define ourselves largely by how we spend our time. For • Inventory and document. Start by creating a detailed does not want them might end up selling them anyway, so you
many Americans, wasted time amounts to wasted potential. inventory of the items in your collection or related to can sell them now, make plans for your estate or a dealer to
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 your hobby. The inventory should include descriptions, sell them and distribute the proceeds following your death,
Time Use Survey, Americans spend about five hours a photographs, certificates of authenticity, provenance or make a lifetime gift (or series of gifts).
day on leisure activities and hobbies. Another survey of (ownership history), conditions, insurance information, • Put your wishes in an estate plan. All your
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Americans taken during the COVID-19 pandemic found care instructions, and other documentation that can help an conversations, preparations, and evaluations could be for
that 6 in 10 had adopted a new hobby as they were left with estate executor or trustee manage and distribute them. Have naught if you do not clearly and legally describe your wishes
more spare time and nowhere to go. Common new hobbies physical and digital copies of your inventory and related in an estate plan. Suppose that you have your treasured comic
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ranged from baking or cooking to reading, arts and crafts, documents stored in safe locations (e.g., a safe deposit book collection professionally appraised and documented.
and photography. box or encrypted cloud storage) that you have ensured You have this information stored in a locked box, and you
While some of our pandemic pastimes have already key loved ones can access after your passing. Review and regularly update it. There is only one problem: You never
fallen by the wayside, others are likely to persist because update your inventory regularly. A good time to do so is formally documented your plan for your collection in a will
there is an inherent payoff when we gain knowledge or learn when you update your estate plan every few years or when or trust. You may have casually discussed your plans with
a new skill and continue to improve at it. significant changes occur in your or your family’s life, or
That payoff may be more than just the personal to your financial situation or your collection. Lifestyles on page 17
satisfaction of mastering a skill. Nearly half of those who
took up a new pandemic hobby turned it into a side hustle
that earned them extra money. And an additional one-
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quarter of those with new hobbies said they hoped to turn
their new hobby into a form of income in the future. 4

When Passion Turns Profitable
Happiness may be priceless, but many of the things that
make us happy have a price tag attached to them.
Maybe you did not start a hobby or collection to
make money. Tales abound about boyhood baseball card
collections and antiquing finds that turned out to be worth
millions of dollars. Coins, comic books, stamps, books,
toys, action figures, records, cars, dolls, furniture, and even
vintage bakeware have commanded impressive prices that,
in some cases, belie their appearance and original purpose.
Other hobbyists and collectors approach their passion
with pecuniary interests squarely in mind. Collecting sports
memorabilia, for example, has exploded into a billion-dollar
industry akin to the fine-art market. In 2023, the collectibles
market as a whole, driven by online marketplaces and digital
auctions, was estimated at nearly $500 billion and growing. 5
For others, a private passion can turn into a life’s work,
like it did for Jim Irsay, the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts owner,
or Joel Platt, a renowned sports memorabilia collector.
These men have gone to great lengths to preserve their
collections for posterity. Irsay takes his diverse collections
of historic artifacts, featuring items from sports, pop culture,
literature, and American history, on the road and shows
them off for free. Platt’s collection is currently housed in
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a showcase museum in Boca Raton. 7

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