Today, I was reading this article from Reuters about the impending wave of artwork and collected material to be transferred from Boomers to their GenX and Millennial heirs. It’s an excellent quick read summing up the importance of proper planning with professionals who understand the unique challenges presented by art collections. The dearth of private sector art advisors working in the Cleveland area combined with this massive intergenerational transfer is essentially why I founded my consulting practice. I know I can help make this easier and avoid common pitfalls that cost families unnecessarily.
This timely topic has been featured in some of the law journals as well of late. Practical Law’s cover article for their December/January issue is “Estate Planning for Art Collectors and Artists.” The art-specific article is very detailed, but boiled down it’s essentially the same advice I would give collectors and living artists in combination with guidance from wealth managers and estate planners in practice here in CLE. There is expertise here on the North Coast to serve them, but there are a few essential art world considerations that planners serving collectors ought to know as they work to protect these unique investments.
To this end, I’ve been working on a short program aimed at planning professionals covering the top 10 things planners should know about art when advising artists and art collectors, but it could easily be tweaked to address the top 5 things collectors should consider when planning to leave their legacy to loved ones. I also created some new service packages aimed at helping clients at different stages in their lives plan to properly protect their collection investment and/or transition their legacy pieces. I’m hoping that flat-fee packages will make people feel more comfortable getting started than signing up for a project of indeterminate length at an hourly rate. You can check them out on the Private Client Services page of this site.
For more information about this topic, to schedule a program, or meet to talk about a project, please drop me a line. ~Jennifer
