Who gets your tools, and equipment when you pass away?

[LarryM]

Has anyone thought who is going get belongings? The reason I ask this question is I recently lost a good friend. Who's hand written will is being contested. He willed everything property, farm equipment, tools, and etc to a friend, and former classmate. The family gets zero. So mine thoughts are the family should get the lion share. Last question do you have a will on file?


Be safe
Larry

[Dan OHare]

It will of course all be buried with me...
(in an unmarked location so put the shovel away...)

[Bentiron1946]

I was just outside thinking about that. Neither of my sons are into tools or the use of their hands except to play computer games. The farthest thing from their minds are my tools so I ask my youngest(19) what he would do with them when I was gone. I wasn't surprised by his answer, disheartened yes but surprised no. He is going to sell the hand tools on Ebay and the big ones on Craigslist. My wife thinks that that is fine. So I got to thinking that may I would find an aspiring young smith and give them to him. I have many tools for jewelry, bronze casting and blacksmithing. I have spent the last forty years gathering these tools and I just don't want them sold off to some undeserving person or collector and the proceeds spent on some blasted computer game that will be played for a week or two.

[HWooldridge]

It depends. If I have time, I'll donate and/or sell everything. If not, my survivors are instructed to sell it as none of my grown sons are interested in following my steps. That in itself does not bother me at all since I've encouraged them to follow their own Way - not mine. My tools are merely extensions of my hands and they should go to other people who will use them wisely after I'm gone and not to sit idle, collecting rust.

[JAFO]

With todays laws, wills mean virtually nothing. Anyone can contest them and hold up everything in probate for years. Personal experience
If you want someone to have a particular item, give it to them while your still alive once you get to the age where you either cant use it or are just not intrested in it anymore.That way there is no question.
Everything in my shop goes to cousin who is just getting started in blacksmithing.

[jayco]

My blacksmithing tools will go to my son and my grandson.
I trust that they will use and take care of them well enough.

JAFO, I like your signature....kinda aggrees with my philosophy.

[markb]

I hope to give to a desearving individual before I go.

My grandson just graduated high school and showed an interest in old record albums, I said look through and take what you want, he took a box and didn't make a dent, I won't sell but he can have them all, better now then a fight over who's going to get them to sell.

If the kids show an interest in anything we have, they generally get it then and there.

Been through the will thing, went to court, like JAFO said.

[yesteryearforge]

Bronze them all and and put them in a stone mausoleum set up as a forge.
Put an eternal flame in the forge.
With you buried beneath.
You may not be able to take it with you but you can keep it close by

Mike Tanner

[pete46]

I'm gon'na HAUNT my forge.
then if someone wants, it they deserve it.

[ThomasPowers]

I'm deserving!

At Quad-State one year they had a estate sale of smithing tools. The widow had asked them to price and sell them. They put on very appropriate prices---upper end proces for used tools and solt them out to folks who would use and appreciate them.

I've mentioned this technique to my wife and also suggested that she save back a "beginner's kit" in case any of my unborn grand kids became interested.