The Collectors Handbook: Tax Planning, Strategy, and Estate Advi

On February 3rd 2008, famed art collector Charles Martignette died suddenly at the age of fifty-seven, leaving behind the greatest collection of American illustration art in the history of the world: 4,300 pieces with a total value of more than $20 million, including important works by Norman Rockwell, Alberto Vargas, and Gil Elvgren. Heritage Auctions, the third largest auction house in the world, used a fleet of three fifty-three foot long trucks to haul the collection to its offices in Dallas. Unfortunately, Mr. Martignette's visionary collecting habits were not accompanied by astute estate planning. It took weeks to locate his will and when it was finally found, it had not been properly executed (only one witness rather than the two witnesses Florida law requires); it was declared invalid and, after thousands in legal fees that could have been avoided, his estate went to his estranged family rather than the man (his lifelong friend and mentor) whom he had had designated as his beneficiary. Stories of poor estate planning leading to disaster are common but in the world of art, antiques and collectibles, collectors and their heirs face a unique set of challenges, such as authenticity and provenance, identifying which pieces are of great value and how they should be sold or otherwise transferred, storage and maintenance, and more. Now more than ever, collectors and their families need objective and authoritative guidance. A 2012 Barclays Wealth and Investment Management study found that, on average, high-net worth individuals have 9.6% of their net worth invested in art, antiques, and collectibles. Yet unlike their real estate holdings and securities investments, the estate planning for these assets is often overlooked. We wrote this book because we re tired of seeing families plunged into chaos when a devoted collector neglects the administrative elements of his collection, says co-author James Halperin, co-founder and Chairman of Heritage Auctions. The collectors we work with derive great pleasure and a sense of purpose from their passion for beauty and scarcity. With just a little more attention to detail, they can ensure that their heirs and charities of choice derive the maximum value from their efforts. This book provides a step-by-step guide on how to do that. The Collector s Handbook, written by the Heritage Auctions experts who presided over more than $860 million in sales in 2012, helps collectors create a plan for heirs, ensure that charitable donations provide maximum tax benefits, and choose the best method for storing, preserving, and liquidating a collection. It s also filled with stories from the trenches of the auction business: from the abstract art collector who left his heirs puzzled when they couldn t figure out which of the paintings in his collection was the banana painting he was referring to to the New Jersey politician who made a small fortune when a live auction-misunderstanding drove the coin he d consigned to sell for more than five times its pre-sale estimate.

Gregory J Rohan, is a partner at Heritage with direct responsibility for all corporate functions involving rare coins. A numismatic prodigy who ran a successful rare coin business while still in high school, Greg has bought and sold millions of dollars in rare coins, including many famous rarities such as the 1804 silver dollar. He was instrumental in Heritage's Guinness World Record purchase of the Trompeter Collection for $15,177,000. With over three decades in the business, Greg is intimately familiar with the handling of rare coins in estates and trusts, particularly where timing and taxation is an issue. He holds memberships in the Professional Numismatists Guild, the American Numismatic Association, the Appraiser’s Association of America, and many other numismatic and professional organizations.

JAMES L. HALPERIN, Heritage’s co-founder, may be the greatest coin mind of all time; according to David Hall, founder and CEO of both the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Coin Universe. Hall went on to call Halperin the Michael Jordan of numismatics and with good reason. Since discovering a near photographic memory for coins as a teenager, Jim has continuously stayed on the cutting edge of the business and performed feats that have left those who know him in a constant state of awe. Arguably the finest grading eye in the business, Halperin's 1986 book, How to Grade U.S. Coins, set the core standards for the major grading services. Earlier, he was the first to use a mainframe computer system in numismatics. This catapulted his company to the top of the industry and in 1983, he merged businesses with Steve Ivy to form Heritage. A surprising percentage of the successful coin dealers in America have learned their craft working under Jim at one time or another. A former governor and life member of the American Numismatic Association, Jim is also a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild.