Shop executor?

I just turned 70, have a son who has not shown much interest in woodworking or metal fab/machinning as a hobby, he knows a bit about MIG welding but overall, I think he or my wife will sell what they can in estate sale auction and donate the leftover.
 
Nutfarmer said:
Something my great aunt did was to put a piece of tape on all of her items in her home with the name of who was supposed to have it after her death. Finding a good executor is key to any trust. I have watched some families come apart over settling an estate.
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Had a relative that did that decades ago: she caught one of her friends switching labels.
 
My shop and machines are in the 50-200K range depending on how good the seller is and I'd feel 50% of the proceeds was appropriate. I've done a lot of Executor, and Trustee work and it is time consuming and hard. I won't touch an estate where the fee is under 20K and have been underpaid at 100K. It is no fun.

Dave
 
The idealist in me says it just shouldn't be hard to find more than one person among family, friends, cousins etc who would jump up and down at the chance to get an entire workshop setup whole and intact. There's something wholesome and full circle about it all going to the next person who can also make use of it rather than the whole thing getting parted out piecemeal or thrown away. It's like a full socket set vs one that's missing half a dozen sockets.
 
I guess fortunately for us, the total value of what's in my shop is less than 1% of our total estate. There won't be too many arguments between our 2 kids as to who gets the tools; more likely there'll be arguments over who's going to have to get rid of them! I was executor of my parent's trust; things went VERY smoothly with my sister. We both did okay relative to our parent's estate which was about 25% of what my wife and mine worth was at the time. For my sister and bro-in-law, maybe 15% of their total worth. Do the divide by two and it's not chump change, but it wasn't lifestyle altering either.

I learned a lot and have a list of stuff I had to do as my wife is her parent's trust executor (eventually). Things like publishing a "notification of death" in our local paper for any creditors. Any creditors had 90 days to file a claim with me, otherwise the debt would go unpaid. Without that notification, me as the executor would be responsible for any debts my parent's had for my lifetime.

I had a little surprise when doing the trust's taxes (form 1041). My mom passed away on 5/13/2022, I divided the majority of their liquid assets between my sister and me around 6/10/2022. When my mom died on 5/13, all of her assets became property of the trust. Her income from Social Security, my dad's pension, and an annuity were maybe $50K a year in income. She also had around $600K in a brokerage account. If it made 10% that year, or a gain of $60K, it would have put her just into the 24% tax bracket.

What I didn't realize, and was glad I got the money to my sister and me relatively quickly, was that the same $60K gain in her brokerage account, had it been in the trust, would have been mostly taxed at a 37% rate. Trust taxes hit the 37% rate (in 2022) at $13,460. Individual earnings needed to be over $539,900 to hit the same 37% rate. Holy carp, they really like taxing gains on income held in a trust! I guess it's an incentive to liquidate the trust and quickly as possible!


Individual Federal tax brackets for 2022
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Trust Federal tax brackets for 2022
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Trusts are taxed very heavily if the income remains inside the Trust. The rates are the same as single but go up much more quickly. Capital gains also mirror individual rates but the 20% and 23.8% rates again occur at much lower levels. Assets receive a step up in basis at death so there is a potential tax savings by dying and passing assets vs gifting. Deferred accounts such as annuities and retirement plans retain the basis of the decedent so the taxes pass to the heirs. Naming one's estate as the beneficiary of deferred accounts insures high taxes will be paid and is almost always a bad idea. Naming a charity as beneficiary is good tax planning but hard on the children.

Dave
 
I was successor trustee for my dad. Everything was laid out plain as day yet my sister didn’t want to cooperate. Since I wanted to keep the house, and we could buy her out but not the other way it took almost a year and a half to settle.

I’m glad I did it but it sure was painful. This stuff all seems simple when you’re alive but after you’re dead good luck having it go the way you plan.

If at all possible give your stuff to whomever you want it going to while you’re alive. Probably more fun for you that way too.

John
 
I plan on outliving my wife. That is the plan. LOL

My wife and I did a will about a year ago, but it does not spell out how to get rid of my tools.
I told the kids to call an auction house. Until then, I am going to enjoy them.
 
My wife says she is just leaving everything as is if I go first, she just won't use the basement. She doesn't use it now anyway so she won't be missing anything.

My plan such as it is, is to put together a booklet inventorying everything, so it is clear what goes with what. Also to basically write up a sale ad, of what it is, important things to mention etc along with a range of fair prices.

I've had this idea for about 2 years and typing this up right now is about as far as I've gotten... Big picture my shop is more chore to get rid of than windfall. A seller might get $20,000 combined wood and metal related tools, machines, books, materials if they really took their time to get high end prices, half that at bargain prices (or about what I actually paid) and 1/4 at just make it go away.
 
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