Donating from a Will.....

[MykeLawson]

A good friend of mine asked me if I would mind being listed in her Will for some items that she knows I will take care of. And that got me thinking about all my old vintage parts and pieces. And I got to thinking about VCF. The folks here have given me a lot of enjoyment over the years, and helped me out of more than a few jams..... And I know the folks here would rather have access to the tons of parts and pieces I have and not see them land up in the landfill. So, my question; if one was so inclined, would VCF be interested, and how would I go about doing such a thing? Myke

 

[whartung]

The best way is to find folks here you have had close enough relationship with and to approach them, and then, after talking out the details, simply list them in your estate. "James Bond, everything in the boxes marked 'TRS-80', shipping to be provided by the estate" (or not).

The game is making sure the folks actually want the product, and be clear enough so that they get the right stuff. Appreciate the administrator may well have no idea was a "TRS-80" or whatever is. "It all looks like old computer stuff to me, so ship all of it, right?"

But you also need a fallback (perhaps James Bond passed themselves, etc.).

Simply, the more detailed the estate instructions, the better for everyone.

 

[Bob-O-Rama]

I have a semi-sad, personal story about this regarding my great uncles collection of early electronics. I won't go into it, but suffice it to say a $100K treasure trove of stuff is in a land fill owing to unclear wishes, impatient heirs, and so on. Making sure his "junk" found a good home was about the only thing he ask of me, and I couldn't even make that happen. Then I had the opposite experience with my own parents passing. As we were cleaning out the house I found a note in a cookie jar from my mom basically giving me permission to throw stuff away. She knew I would have great difficulty with it - heck I can't even throw away a random length of wire.

A specific bequest or instructions to the executors is a good thing. With that said, your plans should not be burdensome, overly specific, nor ambiguous. They should be made known to those left behind well ahead of time. That's actually challenging.

-- Bob

 

[MykeLawson]

Well, I'd like to give them to some organization that supports retro-computing since they will be more capable in finding good homes. Even if they sell the stuff to help out the organization. My daughter would not have any idea where to turn, nor would I. Well, hopefully I have many more years to consider it.....

 

[whartung]

If you have any pieces of particular value, the best thing you can do is sell them yourself. Anyone who has had to clear out an estate has had that conversation "You sold it for how much? You could have got XXX!" without appreciating the intangible stresses of dealing with an estate.

If you have family, friends, or organizations that want specific pieces, then name them clearly. Anything left over will end up at (ideally) an estate auction, or in a landfill.

Appreciate that even organizations that may be interested in some pieces, how much is involved in actually taking in a piece (or pieces) of equipment.

If you can get most of your collection into new hands yourself, be grateful in the feeling you found the items what you considered proper homes while you had the opportunity.