and estate/tax planning
ESTATE AND TAX PLANNING – do I need to make a will? None of us likes to dwell upon our own mortality, but it is a simple fact that in most cases our Stamp & Postal History treasures will outlive us. Indeed, if you have taken a lifetime to build your Collection, it can take you only a few minutes to safeguard it for your beneficiaries. Few collectors tell their spouses or loved ones exactly how much they spend week-by-week on their Collections, and we have learned of several cases of large sums of money being lost by recently bereaved families when unscrupulous people took advantage of their ignorance of the real values of the collections that they had inherited. It is far better to confess all when you are beyond recrimination than to risk the money that you have spent being wasted after your death.
You do not have to make a will, but it is always better for those that you leave behind, if you have done so. If you have already made a will, it is not necessary to add a complicated codicil or to re-write it; simply leave a separate letter of instruction for your lawyer/executors, outlining what you think your Collection may really be worth, and who you would like to oversee its disposal.
Cavendish's Directors have wide experience in acting as Philatelic Executors and Advisors, and will treat all enquiries with the strictest confidence. Suggested forms of wording for wills, codicils or letters of instruction to Executors can be provided by Cavendish free of charge, together with Executor labels that nominate Cavendish to act as advisers to your executors in the event of your death. See Executor / Trustee planning for collectors
PROBATE VALUATIONS. Cavendish's experts are often consulted for valuations of Stamps, Postal History and related material, following the death of a collector, in order to assess the estate's Probate valuation (and any tax liabilities that might therefore arise). Their experience can be invaluable to solicitors and executors who often find Stamp Collections to be the most difficult and worrying of all assets to value and store. Cavendish can collect material from any location in Britain at very short notice, provide immediate safe storage of Collections in their secure vaults in Derby, and arrange relevant insurance while they undertake a thorough valuation for probate purposes. Charges for this work are moderate, and they are waived if the material in question is consigned for auction by Cavendish within 6 months of their having provided the Probate Valuation.
LIFETIME TAX-PLANNING. Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax liabilities can be reduced or eliminated if the right procedures are followed and if the correct decisions are taken during your lifetime. Lifetime Trusts and Gifts can be a tax-efficient way of minimising tax liabilities, often utilising the ‘seven year’ rule. Cavendish can provide outline information regarding these procedures, and can refer detailed enquiries to Paul Grimwood-Taylor if you do not have your own legal/financial adviser. It is never too soon to start planning for the future.
STAMP INSURANCE & STORAGE. Cavendish can recommend specialist insurance brokers to arrange Worldwide cover for larger collections of all kinds, no matter how valuable, and they can advise you on every aspect of home and bank security for your Stamps and Postal History. Cavendish's own experts regularly undertake insurance valuations of Collections for this purpose, and their valuations are recognised throughout the insurance world. They can also provide advice to Insurance Companies' Loss Adjusters when requested to do so. Their access to the latest movements in Worldwide philatelic values enables them to provide the most accurate replacement valuation figures, based on their unique experience and knowledge of this specialised market. Quotations can also be provided for the safe-keeping of suitable properties in Cavendish's own vaults pending the grant of Probate, or for longer-term purposes.