Guitars in your Will.

[Lacks Focus]

When I did my will, the only instruments I had were the Martin and the Stelling. I have no kids, but I do have two nephews, one of whom is a guitar player, and one of whom is a piano player. The guitar-playing nephew was assigned the Martin, and that left the Stelling for the other nephew, though whether he'll appreciate getting it remains to be seen (I got a *banjo*?! WTF?!). He'll have to be content with the knowledge that it's worth almost twice what the Martin is.

Of course since then, I've acquired a couple more, so I'll have to give some further thought to all of this. Soon.

[gtonesine]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Would you consider adopting me so I could be a part of the guitar brawl?

best laugh I have had in a couple days

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by open strings

I'm doing my Will now, and want to do the most loving thing for my family with regards to my guitars and gear. Two of my three children are avid guitar players. I don't really want to assign certain guitars to certain kids, but I don't want to leave them with difficult decisions to make after my passing. Not sure whether to provide guidance or to leave it up to my survivors. I imagine there are good ways to approach this. I'd be interested in how you may have handled it. Thanks in advance.

As an attorney who has done a number of wills, and has also seen what happens when a grantor is not specific, I'll urge you to be specific. Either find out now in an unobtrusive way who likes what and put that into the will, or instruct them to randomize who gets which. After my dad died and my sister and I were divvying up the unassigned personal items, when we could not agree we put it aside. Once done we paired items and drew cards: High hand got to pick first, low hand got to pick first from the next pair. And you will want to make things equal by giving something non-musical to the non-musician sibling.

I also advise recording a video for them after you are gone, explaining why you are doing things, so that if there is any ill will, it will be directed at you and not their siblings.

People fight over estates, even small bequests. You will be showing that you care by taking steps now to avoid it. Don't think it can't happen in your case, because everyone thinks that.

TW, ESQ.

[open strings]

Thanks, it's kind of you to help me out with this. Certainly it's about giving stuff and not giving love-as the one poster pointed out. I'll make sure that point gets across. I also think it's loving and practical not to make them decide. Good suggestions everybody.

[coconuts]

I've decided to have all of my guitars burned and the ashes scattered over the ocean. Still debating about my casket being a guitar case.

[BongoSTL]

As a clergy member (rabbi), I'd really encourage you to make sure that you have things like this established and known before you pass on.

I've been in far to many situations where family members no longer speak to each other because of disagreements over these sorts of issues.

The advantage of talking with all of your kids together, is they may understand value differently. One kid may appreciate the $$$ value of a particular instrument, where another one has great memories of being a 3yo sitting in your lap while you strummed that old yamaha.

Good luck--and good on you for dealing with this (and don't forget he grandkids!)