Planning for Unique, Illiquid, Illegal and Unusual Assets:  Good Grief, Grandma’s Got a Gun Collection!

Clients need to understand that there are fiduciary responsibilities in administering unique assets. Understanding a client’s intentions with respect to unique assets is important in structuring an estate plan.  Is it legal for the fiduciary to even take possession of the assets?  Will they be sold, or given to charity? Is the collection important to the next generation?  Who should pay for maintenance costs?  Fiduciaries have a responsibility to reasonably diversify trust assets.  An estate plan may need to specifically authorize the fiduciary to retain unique assets.  A boilerplate provision negating the duty to diversify is not always going to be sufficient.  The will or trust may indemnify the trustee with respect to the unique assets.  But, the trustee may have little experience with the particular assets and may need to hire special expertise.  This presentation will examine these issues and more in connection with artwork, wine, weapons, airplanes, and cannabis. 

About Wendy

Wendy Goffe has more than 25 years of experience counseling clients on estate planning issues. Her experience includes advising clients on matters including probate and trust administration, estate and gift taxation, charitable giving and nonprofit trusts and corporations, family-owned business succession and issues concerning unmarried couples. Wendy has extensive experience preparing prenuptial, postnuptial and cohabitation agreements.

Wendy is a regular speaker at local, regional and national events addressing a number of estate planning topics. She has also been interviewed by and written for many national publications.

Wendy was previously a contributor to Forbes.com, and her articles can be found here.

Before joining Stoel Rives, Wendy was a shareholder at Graham & Dunn PC and an attorney at Bogle & Gates.