Estate Planning for Art Collectors: Structuring Disposition Plans for Artworks and Collectible Items

This CLE/CPE course will provide estate planners with a comprehensive guide to the estate and income tax planning issues specific to valuable artwork and collectible items within an estate portfolio. The panel will discuss the critical questions of verifying title, documenting valuation, and dealing with fractional ownership. The webinar will offer guidance on structuring disposition plans under various scenarios, both inter vivos and testamentary, to balance income and estate tax considerations with clients' passion for their collections.

Most significant estates contain valuable artwork or collector's items. These assets present myriad specific challenges, from the perspective of both estate and income tax planning. Estate counsel need to grasp the unique tax and investment issues presented by art and collectibles as part of designing an estate plan for clients with those assets.

Art and collectible items are among the more difficult assets to value for estate purposes. The IRS has an audit unit dedicated to valuation of artwork, and the standards the IRS applies in challenging valuations continue to evolve. Valuation is a critical factor in determining a disposition strategy for an art collection, and estate planners must understand the specific challenges in deciding how to dispose of these assets.

Part of what makes art and other collectibles different from other assets is the personal attachment that many collectors have toward their acquired items. Unlike other financial investments, beneficiaries may not wish to take artwork as part of an inheritance. Planners should understand disposition strategies and post-mortem sale considerations in structuring a plan to serve clients with art and collectible items.

Listen as our experienced panel provides a thorough and practical guide to the special considerations of structuring estate plans for clients with valuable artworks and collectible items.