Our fragile lives.

Mark Williams

Mark Williams

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All of us I hope have loved ones. We need to consider a facet of our knifemaking that concerns them.

With Brians accident;and the all too common mishap, have you thought about liquidating your shop and how you wouild like it to be handled. I figure a good friend who is also a maker could be of great assistance to a spouse, or other family of a maker.

A friend of a maker brought some of a deceased makers equipment to Trackrock and sold it for the widow.

I have instructed Deb to call my list of makers on a list that is in our important papers case. Selling off all my junk could at least help pay for disposal of my ragged old body :) .

Might be a good idea to have a few good knives put away also.

I know that this applies to most everyone wish diposal of any type property.

Just something to think about.
 
Given my health situation, it is something I've had to seriously consider, Mark. Your's is wise advice.

There is a list of some stuff to be given to people, and I've asked a couple friends to look out for the disposition of the rest. Sad as it is, there are those who would take advantage of a situation like that simply to resell stuff at a profit.

I have had the same conversation with a couple other makers, to keep the vultures from descending on Nanc in case of anything sudden. Having a fellow maker's help that you know you can count on is nice for the peace of mind.
 
This is something my wife and I have been discussing recently.I just did a knife for an attorney who does estates and wills.He came back to me for a few more knives and wants to trade legal services for knives.So we have been trying to decide who gets what and all that since we have no children.Dave
 
This is a good post Mark and timely for a lot of reasons.
I think most would agree with one of my favorite sayings " When times get tough, you find out who your real friends are....and you find you don't have many"

I have never been afraid of many things in my life. I am afraid of losing my freedom, my ability to function and my biggest fear is that I would leave my wife without the means to support herself.

Many of us have life insurance...I sure don't have enough and a lot of us don't have any.
Knife makers are also a rare breed of people. Look at us. We are in every conceivable;e profession and from every type of background. The common thread though, seems to be our Independence.

What we don't look at is our ability to handle crisis, cash flow problems and our disability or death.
Much of the initial money will come from the sale of equipment and inventory. I have Gold and silver and yes, I still have a little Ivory, just not much. I also have a main business that I have groomed my wife to take over and a number of sidelines. I'm still not comfortable with dieing so I guess I can't for a while. :eek:

Probate is a bad thing for your wife. It can be expensive like taxes. You need someone you can trust who will sell for her and get the best deals.
I'm lucky in that respect. Not only do I have grown children, I have a bunch of lawyers in the family to help them.

We need to make sure all titled property like house and cars are as accessible as possible. I have a power of attorney signed and where my wife can get it any time. The idea is to have things set up so she doesn't have to prove she owns them.

I also have instructions written up for my son, directing where he should sell things and who gets what. He gets a lot of the guns.

I still ain't ready though !
 
Brain just had a close call with a vehicle accident. He's okay. It's in the friday post.
 
From a plain fact point of view, I will probably outlive my wife, so I guess my will shall have the final disposition of what's left. I think if I have enough forewarning of the big end, I will probably just give all my knife making stuff to whoever, probably my kids and makers that will actually USE the equipment. As for pennys on the dollar for our knife making equipment and shop supplies, yes, there are some people out there that strive on taking advantage of people such as knife maker's widows, but they certainly aren't any of us here. This I know. Group hug.
 
Interesting topic, I'm still a young'un, but a few years ago I had a traumatic experience that made me decide to give up knife making, I sold off all my equipment and got a mere pittance for it since I simply "wanted it gone" (When I got over everything and decided to get back into it five or six years later, I didn't find any such deals)

I can imagine that it would be much the same (or worse) if my wife where left with my junk to dispose of, I suppose I'll have to give this some thought now that you mention it.

Tony
 
This is something I've often thought of because not only do I have knifemaking equipment but also a collection of knives and guns. I'm still fairly young, if almost 46 is young :) but Brian's incident does make you think. It made me think back in 1999 when my wife was almost killed in an accident. It only takes a split second for your life to change. Life is so hectic, many of us don't take the time to consider these things.
Scott
 
Very timely, thanks Mark. If something were to happen to me out of the blue today, my wife wouldn't have a clue how to go about getting value from my tools and she'd be taken advantage of, no doubt about it. My kids would not be interested in either my shop or my knife/gun collection. Not to mention my comic books, limited editions, general library, etc. She'd probably keep most of the books but everything else would be of no interest, only overhead.

We've often talked about putting together a will but that's as far as it's gotten. I guess it's time to think this through and take some action. I spend a considerable amount of my workday commuting in heavy, fast traffic, and drive a tincan of a car. I don't think a seatbelt would do much but keep most of my parts local if I was in an accident.

Something else to think about is what Don mentioned: life insurance. I'm nicely insured as long as I'm working and if something were to happen to me in the next few years Jeanie would be in better shape without me than she is with me. ;) But that goes away when we retire, and then what? That's the biggest reason I know to at least make sure the mortgage is paid... My shop should get me baked and boxed, but she'd still have to live somehow.

John, watch for PM.
 
FWIW, there are software packages you can get for about $20 or less that walk you through the will-making process. The investment of some of your time solidifying your wishes with your family making the will is absolutely TINY compared to the time, expense, and grief they can go through probating your estate without a will.

After making your will, whether with or without the help of software, be sure to have the resulting document looked at by a legal professional when you are done. It is a cinch that there will be things or circumstances you either forgot or didn't know about. The legal-beagle, being familiar with the laws of your state (hopefully ;) ), can bring them up on your radar screen for consideration.
 
Good discussion. When I was in the shop yesterday I though, what a mess for Sheri (my wife) to have to get rid of. She doesnt know what 1/2 of the junk I have is for. Leaving a list of makers I trust is a great option. Get used items to those who would use them and get my wife a little cash.
I am sorry to hear about your loss Mark.
 
It would be worth figuring out how your cash flow would work out, over time, even if you feel that the value of your assets will ultimately cover your funeral expenses. It might be hard to convince the funeral director to take your grinders or knives in trade.

My father passed away just about a year ago from cancer. He was a machinist so the basement of my parents house was/is full of equipment and hand tools. He basically gave away a BIG (over 500 pounds, 3-4ft bed, over 12 swing) metal lathe and a tool chest full of hand tools when he knew the end was near. The guy he gave it to couldn't just take it so he gave him $500. It saved me a lot of work since he lives in Vancouver Canada and I live in Houston and my mom and sisters didn't know where to start to dispose of all that stuff. I have been and will be bringing home his hand tools for my sons to use. They are reaching that age and would appreciate having grandpa's tools since they are both very mechanically oriented. I am sure it gives the bagage inspectors fits at the airport. :D

He was also a big cultivator of bonsai in his retirement. He arranged with some garden in Seattle to take some of his plants. It took them a while to get all the import permits required. The bonsai club that he belonged to helped to sell off much of the rest.

Disposing of all his stuff took a lot of time, mamy months in some cases. None of the stuff that was sold off went to pay directly for his funeral expenses. My mom did not collect on his insurance policies until about a month and a half after his death. They need a death certificate and we didn't have time to fill out the forms till the week after his funeral. I felt that the insurance companies took a reasonable amount of time to process the claim and did not drag their feet. She had to dip into her savings to pay for the funeral expenses. Fortunately, she was able to "just pay for everything".

Just my $0.02 worth.

Phil
 
the wife and I had our wills made out a few years ago..

I was so worried I'd get whacked for a while there... :eek:
you know that look the woman gives you sometimes :eek:

Hey,, who wants to take care of my junk when you hear I'm gone?? :)

Don .. glad to see you back, or have I just not seen you here lately?

I guess I'm missing some info.. what happened Brian? almost another one??? :confused: slow down buddy..and glad your OK..

I guess I missed the news Mark.. sorry and condolences if appropriate..
 
MArk, this thread reminded me of my close call.
Now, look at my life....I have a baby on the way in December. Life is fragile and good. Too bad all the small crap that other people around us throw our way, makes life frustrating at times. We should all learn to relax a little more.......
At least I need to learn to deal with the stresses at my day job a little better.
 
Glad you brought this thread back up -- I don't recall seeing it. This is something I need to think about.
 
Mark Williams said:
Dan ,

Look at the date.

I was hoping for a response from Don, ya bonehead.
Click to expand...
I see now.. :rolleyes:
You pecker head, you got me,,, bringing this back :D
you know my memory isn't good :confused: :)

hey,,, I'm a little slow at times.. :D
it's a conspiracy I know it.. :D :D

where is Don anyway?? anyone have a phone number????
edited to add.
2/16 was his last post date..
 
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