Kind of a sad day.

Sorry to hear about this. I have seen the same thing play out in my own family.

Lesson for us all, when you make up your Last Will and Testament, you do NOT have to give every child an equal share or any of that crap. In England only the eldest son used to inherit an estate, and as a result the rest of the sons went out and conquered 1/4 of the globe. When I go everything will go to someone that earned it, hell even if that has to be someone outside the family, it will go to someone with the right values.

My grandfather passed most the things he wanted me or my brother to have to us directly over the other dozen and a half grandchildren, because he knew we would appreciate it for the right reasons. Don't be afraid to do the same with your possessions. And whatever you have still make sure it is in the Will in explicit and uncertain terms, and spend the bucks for a lawyer write things up to make sure no one can contest it.

Sad. Feel for you and my sympathies.

Dad passed in '15 and one I appreciated was his journal of his WWII South Pacific tour. He also had a photo album of him and buddies prior to going into their basic. Without dad to tell the story, it is just pictures unfortunately. If dad were here he'd be 101.

jmr40 said:

I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my WW-2 Vet dad about 9 years ago. Lost mom 3 years ago. I only have one brother and we had zero issues with anything. Both of us were on the same page about everything.

My mom and dad made it easier too by making their wishes known. Years ago they had already put most of their assets in our name. Dad gave us his guns years ago when he could no longer use them. We already owned the house they lived in and had access to all of their bank accounts. They trusted us to manage them wisely for them in their final years.

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Similar here, mom and dad's foresight made the paper trail so easy. I simply called the estate attorney to tell them and signed for anything that was required. Dad had set it up entirely and we had POA for their last 5 years. I have few gee-gaws of dad's, the Ariska rifles he brought back from his Kyushu patrol days following the peace signing and his journal. He was very simple in accumulating possessions.

I have been told first hand how many families get chewed up upon the passing of parents. That's sad.

An old friend of mine (now deceased) had a very valuable Henry rifle collection. His was an incredible grapes-of-wrath story with the family losing everything, including the family farm, during The Depression. He struggled through much hardship, worked his butt off and emerged as a college professor, talented artist, and gun collector. He eventually bought back the family farm! His collection is valued in the 100s of thousands....a museum quality collection. He understood value and beauty and sought to preserve both. He also recognized his daughter-in-law's greed as she and his #2 son drooled over his collection, always expressing more interest in the sale value of each gun. As he approached his final years he worked with an attorney and his #1 son to protect his collection. Over a period of 5-6 years he transferred his entire collection to #1 son who built a special room onto his house to serve as the "Collection Room". His collection remains intact and is enjoyed by lots of people everyday. I love happy endings.

This is a lesson we can all learn from regarding our own estates. Most important thing is to have wills set up, otherwise a large portion of your estate may be wasted in a probate preceding.

We have currently been gifting some objects, i.e., watches, jewelry, etc. to my son and daughter. I've had them long enough and I get joy from seeing them enjoying these things while we're still alive.

Both children are professionals, my wife and I don't have anything particularly valuable. They get along and I think we'll be fortunate there will be no squabbling when we pass.

Neither one wants my small gun collection, but I've left instructions to contact a younger friend to dispose of them.

Sorry to hear about your father. Judging by his material possessions, he must have been an interesting man to have known.

I am prepared to walk away from everything my parents leave behind to maintain the bond of my family. We get along great now and nothing my parents leave will stop that. At least from my end.

Jim Watson said:

I would rather deal with Vladimir Putin than heirs.
I would rather deal with Vlad Tepes than divorced parents.

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How right you are. I see this quite often. Never ceases to amaze me how much effort people will put into being hateful and ugly to their own family.

Its pretty sad what family will do to you. I have a buddy, who's mom recently passed and his sister forged his moms signature on paperwork only giving him 1/4 of the money left and she kept the rest. He found other paperwork his mom signed and the signatures didn't match. When called out on it, she admitted to it and gave him the money. No kids or wife for me so my stuff will go to a nephew.

This story is why I get frustrated when short sighted guys post “don’t care what happens to my stuff when I’m gone. Not my problem any more”

While that may be true, you may have caused a lot of grief for your family

redneck2 said:

This story is why I get frustrated when short sighted guys post “don’t care what happens to my stuff when I’m gone. Not my problem any more”

While that may be true, you may have caused YOUR FAMILY TO CREATE a lot of grief for your family

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They bring it on themselves through GREED.

My Uncle got married to women that had 2 grown kids (boy and girl Debbie) and a 7yo girl Tammy (her was this only Father she knew).

He accepted all 3 and their kids, as his.

His Wife passed 4 months before he did. Their WILL gave 100% to Tammy. Debbie's daughter asks her Aunt Tammy for a shirt of Grandma's and Papa's, to make a memory pillow.. She was told, "No, they all belong to me."

If I see Tammy, is well be cordial. I will not make any attempt to see her.

"If you want the measure of a man's character,share an inheritance with him." Ben Franklin
There is something called the Statute of Frauds which says that certain contracts-those dealing with real estate, e.g.-must be in writing.
I don't think fights over inheritances cause problems so much as they reveal fault lines-and character flaws-which were there all along.

Familiar story. My sister rooted through my Dad's papers and found the promissory note for the loan he gave her to help her buy a house -- and she disappeared it. We happened to know it was in there, but decided to let it go and never mention it. We decided not going to grub over some money.

Keep one or two things from the person who dies and treasure the memory. Yes, nothing like a fight over an inheritance to bring out the worst in people. I cringe even to hear questions from my kids over how much money we have in our 401K or what the house is worth... I tell them after we are gone, the estate goes to charity... I don't want them fighting with each other... and it creeps me out to think they might want us to shuffle off this mortal coil earlier than we are ready to go.

I had a friend who started up a successful chemical company. His hard work the kids felt entitled and waited for him to pass thinking they would collect his estate. He knew this and in the last 10 years he spent about 80% of it as well as downsizing his house into an apartment. Sold the company too. He told me nobody helped him and his kids didn't learn how to appreciate the value of work even though they were raised seeing mom-dad struggle. He felt that as a father his kids didn't wake up but they would get a final lesson. He was a kind man in the 15 years we were in contact. Donated and helped fund scholarships for kids that didn't have the $ to get higher education.

I'm so sorry. Truly.

My father came to live with my wife and me the last 5 months of his life. I retired early (unprepared) to care for him. My 3 millionaire siblings refused him, yet were astounded he omitted them when he passed. They've not spoken to me since.

Today was the close on the auction that included over 250 of my dad's guns, bayonets, knives, scopes, and various WW1 and WW2 items. Sad I couldn't save them all. I tried, but a greedy, spiteful sister and an alcoholic brother were in the way. All that history, and more importantly, the testament to my dad's seemingly endless knowledge of all things firearm related. It stings.

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As bad as it is - I've seen all too many times where they go to a buy back and end up being destroyed.
At least this way, they are going to someone that will appreciate them for what they are.
With any luck, they may end up being handed down in other families where they are treasured.

TarDevil said:

I'm so sorry. Truly.

My father came to live with my wife and me the last 5 months of his life. I retired early (unprepared) to care for him. My 3 millionaire siblings refused him, yet were astounded he omitted them when he passed. They've not spoken to me since.

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Those 5 months of memories will last you the rest of your life, you are a good man @TarDevil.

BreechFace said:

Those 5 months of memories will last you the rest of your life, you are a good man @TarDevil.

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Thank you. I wouldn't trade those 5 months for all the siblings in the world.

I'm sorry to hear that, bud. I imagine the new owners appreciate the gear for what it's worth if they were willing to bid on them.