Your dolls after your death...

As part of my digital dolly records, for each doll I have a file that contains screencaps of sales listings showing the doll with basic company/sculpt/year data and the price at which it was purchased, PayPal/CC receipts for payments, and personal photos of the doll. All that's more for insurance purposes, as I don't trust insurance companies to take my word on a doll's value. However, this information could be used by whoever inherits these buggers to resell them. I honestly think everyone should at least keep records on the company, sculpt, and year of the doll in the very least for personal secondhand sales. I can't count the number of times I've seen sales post with the "Made in" spot left blank, which is often followed up with "no noticeable yellowing"... but that is a rant for another day!

 

I have already talked to both my daughter in law and my daughter. Both are or have been in hobby so understand the dolls I have are valuable. After they decide which ones they each want, the others are to be sold asking friends first, then others. Money to be split between them.

As for DOA, unless they are told you have passed away your account would remain open. So if your family wanted to sell them here they most likely could as long as rules for market place were obeyed. So be sure you make them aware of such rules and maybe talk to mods on here first before they go posting threads.

Personally I hope I know of my end so I can take care of all this kind of stuff myself. But I figure at my age I have maybe five years left in hobby before health says I need to cut down.
+++ Its been almost four years since I wrote this. I have developed arthritis in my hands a bit and other joints too. I still love my dolls and have one very special doll I hope my granddaughter will keep when I am gone. The others I am hopeful will find good homes. With new tax law though I may opt to sell others myself and just enjoy my one girl as much as I can. +++

 

That's such a great idea to keep such detailed records. I've been going through cleaning and organizing my life online and offline, so I will have to put this on my to do list!

I unfortunately don't have an official will in place, it is something me and my husband NEED to do. But we have discussed a few just-in-case scenarios. I've made sure he has access to all of my online login info (including here). And he does know the value of these dolls, as he often has helped me during holidays/birthdays to get one - and to which I've told him DoA is probably the safest and easiest way to sell/buy BJDs.

Also I'm really sorry to hear about your brother! I don't think anyone can truly prepare for that. Even my grandparents, they had most of that planned out...and even life insurance...but when we lost my Poppy (grandfather) it still was a very difficult time because not everything was set in place/went quite as planned. I think the best we can do is try to plan/alleviate some of those difficulties for our loved ones and hope for the best.

 

Also wanted to mention that storing these documents - physical or on a back-up drive - along with CoAs in a fire-safe box is also a really good idea!

 

Would you be willing to share that google doc? I have long thought about this and have informed my parents and boyfriend of what my collection is worth and what not to do with them if I have an untimely accident. Some dolls I have elected to leave to a fellow hobbyist and have received their info and have it written down. Now that I am older, I worry about what would happen to them.

 

The marketplace rules wouldn't allow a family member to sell them using your account.
I keep detailed records of all my valuable possessions including reciepts etc for insurance purposes.You could include this sort of info in a will.

 

I am sorry for the loss of your brother.

This is such a great topic! I think thinking about what one must do with their doll collection after any type of life-altering event. What if one falls gravely ill and can't maintain their collection anymore. That and natural disasters?

As for me, I think I will donate my dolls to charity. I don't have family who would want them or want to deal with the hassle of selling the dolls.

Or on my death bed, I will choose a (lucky) friend who can have all the dolls and they can do what they please with them after I'm gone.

 

There’s places like “everything but the house” which are pretty much like an online consignment stores, my family used them to get rid of some stuff after my grandmother had died and everyone in the family had picked out what they wanted.

I didn’t see any bjd there, but it handles estate sales and resin bjds haven’t been around as long as other types of dolls.

 

I am sorry about your brother and I wish your family the best.

Caution: sensitive subject below!
Estate planning: Some of us need a will and an executor. Some of us don't. Regardless, make a list of your valuable items, not just your bjds - precisely so they don't end up in a donation bin. Figure out who might be cleaning out your space and how they will know how much your bjds cost. Remember we can't know what our bjds are worth at the time of our demise, only what we paid for them and when.
People who are settling estates are dealing with their own lives at the same time. Realistically, they will do whatever they can, but I doubt they will dig deep into the bjd world to sell someone's bjds.

 

There's always curses! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding!)

Actually, I hope we're all headed to such a magnificent, blissful eternal existence that we won't care at all about our old life.

 

My family knows how expensive my dolls are - they'd never just throw them away! I'd probably leave them to my niece(s) and nephew(s), provided they're still as interested in them as they're now. And leave detailed info on what they're worth and where to best sell them in case they aren't.

 

There's one doll I would like to keep with me, all the others will be passed to my daughter, she can keep them as memories or sell them if she'd like (I hope she would at least keep my little Gorgis though)!

 

Short answer: I'll be dead, so I won't even know or care what happens.

Long answer: I've told my husband to choose which he wishes to keep, if any, and give the rest to my sister, who is also in the hobby. She knows enough about them, or at least where to find the info, to know about what they're worth. She can choose to keep them, give them away to my hobby friends, or sell them, it's totally up to her and whatever she wants to do with them. I'll be getting cremated, so taking any of them with me won't be happening.

 

I actually recommend making detailed notes on any hobby that others might not be familiar with, not just dolls. It doesn't matter how healthy or safe you try to be, you can still pass unexpectedly. You can't control that, but you do have some control over what happens to your possessions after your death.

While you might not care about your dolls after your death, do keep in mind that there is a reason you see so many Go Fund Me campaigns for funeral expenses. Most families cannot afford a funeral for a death they were not expecting (ex. death due to old age). Knowing how much your possessions are worth and being able to put that money towards funeral expenses will be a tremendous help to friends and family.

Take the time to properly document all things related to the hobby. Your dolls' cost, market value, and extras such as mods, face up artists, imperfections, etc. should be noted. Take photographs! Make a spreadsheet and make a few copies of it, too. It might seem weird or creepy to prepare like this, but the couple of hours you put into this will be an unbelievably huge help to your friends and family should you pass unexpectedly.

My friends and family are familiar with the expenses involved in the hobby, but if that's not the case for you, do consider letting a trusted friend or family member know. Obviously you don't have to be super weird and text them, "Hey, did you know that creepy doll you hate cost $750?" in the middle of the night, but just make them aware so they know that your BJDs aren't just big versions of the porcelain dolls you find at thrift stores.