Your dolls after your death...

My daughters know very well how much these dolls are worth, and I expect there will be quibbling over who gets which ones - mostly to sell of course LOL I've 2 brothers who are lawyers, and a nephew in law school - all of them say it's much better to give things away BEFORE one dies due to taxes & costs etc - so I will be attempting to do that as I get ancient...
My younger brother is my executor, tho (lawyer) and does understand the value of the dolls. No one will be sending them to thrift shops LOL

 

My husband is very unsentimental and I realize some sort of letter will be necessary just to prevent him throwing everything in a dumpster. (Pretty certain his way of dealing with the grief would be to simply make it look like I never existed, ASAP.) I started writing all the dolls’ information down, but I really should follow through with photos of everything and make sure this info is in an obvious place.

I would want one certain doll to go to a friend of mine, since he is cousins with her guy. If she badly wanted some of the others who belong to that story, I guess I’m fine with that, but I would prefer some money went to offsetting the costs for my husband.

I feel weird about my favourite doll though. I feel as if I’ve put too much energy into him, in a way. He might not feel quite right to anyone after my death. I guess I would want him wiped and dismantled and sold as parts, so his character is released from this plane along with me. That is my first thought, anyway.

 

Everything I have is being devided among my four godchildren. The dolls are specifically mentioned in my will and all of them (except the youngest, who is currently six years old) are are aware of how much BJDs cost. They will probably have a job on their hands identifying the make and sculpt of each (especially as I have a lot fo hybrids) if they want to sell them because I am simply not organised enough to keep track of that sort of stuff myself let alone keep records. Periodic attempts at that sort of record keeping have all crashed and burned, I've accepted that it's just not going to happen.

Teddy

 

I would give them to my children/daughter if I ever have any

 

I've thought of such situation before.. I thought of getting my parents or my future husband to pass all my dolls to my good friend who is into BJD too. But after some years had passed, my good friend might move oversea after marrying her boyfriend. Passing all my dolls to her will be difficult or costly.

After reading some other's plan, I think it's more practical to list down all my dolls' sales info and have my future husband sell them. He can keep all the money from it and spend them in anyway he wants. Be it on his marine hobby or for our future kids.

But if my future husband or future kids wants to keep them as memories, okay, sure.. But I really doubt my boyfriend will lol. He is not a doll person. XD

 

I've often thought about this for a while and the only conclusions I can come up with is passing them on to someone else in my family that would appreciate/take care of them as much as I did. If I have children in the future they could have them and do whatever with them. Other than that I'd be okay with them or someone I trust selling them after.

 

I've always thought about that, I probably should write my dolls info somewhere and keep it just in case.

 

This is one of the harder questions in our hobby but I'm always glad to see people openly discussing it. I don't have a legal will, which is something I need to fix but I have made up a Google document with all of my wishes which my husband also has access to.
He's not into dolls, but one of my best friends out if state is. About a year or do ago we agreed that if one of us passed first we would adopt their collection.
So my guys have a happy home should something happen. I've also been keeping meticulous record of all my dolls, when they were purchased, from whom for how much and I've also recorded modifications and commissioned face ups. I've even gone so far to list where I've gotten clothes and props from. Never know what might be needed so just put it all down.

 

For all I watch Ask a Mortician and feel about the "good death" I really haven't thought it out my death plans

But unless I acquire close friends who really like dolls between now and my eventual death, probably have them sold off. No one in my family shares my affection for them. I don't have any plans to have kids or marry so my dolly legacy will most likely be spread to the winds, but hopefully for a decent amount of money.

 

I'm not that sentimental with regards to my death. Since the value of dolls is not obvious to those outside the hobby, I'll probably write that down somewhere --but I'd have to do that for half my inventory anyway. Given the particulars around selling secondhand dolls, some instructions might be useful as well.
I don't much care who gets them or where they go, since I won't be around to care. But it'd be nice if the people I leave behind make a few cents out of it, presuming they won't want to keep them.

 

I am in my 50s, I will start to put up some of my BJDs for sale. Trying to re-home my dolls before I become too frail to do so. I will find the earlier opportunity to speak with Volks to see if I can return dolls to them should I not be able to care for them and they remain unsold. Selling is a long stressful and unpleasant process for me but choosing to keep them is not being responsible. My mom and I are growing old, if I’m gone, there is nobody to take over the dolls, we decided that’s in the best interest to start selling. I cannot let my BJDs fall into the wrong hands or into the hands of people who does not know anything about the dolls. There are 10 dolls, 9 boys and 1 girl. All Volks except the girl. If I cannot return the unsold dolls to Volks at my death, I put a will in place to incinerate remaining dolls. This is how blunt and clear I can get regarding this matter.

 

I too am in my 50s, but I have a kid and three grandkids, two of which may be interested in "Grampy's dolls." Right now, they are a bit too young to have the ones I would leave to them, but that's okay. I hope to get the oldest girl her very own BJD in a few years, that way she becomes familiar with them.

Also, my partner knows that they're getting all of my Gravitation Crew dolls after I'm gone.

Whatever dolls no one wants, I'm hoping that my partner will rehome them to good homes.

I know that resin is poisonous when burned, so I could never take any of them with me when I am cremated.

Ryu

 

I'd love to give this entire collection of mine to a doll or toy museum when I'm no longer able to keep up with them, just as examples of their type... 'Not sure any of those would actually WANT the gang, though, even as unusual as some of them are... There's still a bit of clucking and snobbery among vintage doll collectors about these modern resin minions of ours, and no matter how much we may value them, those traditionalists may not.

So... odds are, I'll eventually end up just giving them away to people who are interested in Old School sculpts.

Given that most of them predate the recast issue, and so don't necessarily have the COAs, boxes, purchase receipts and iron-clad documentation that people expect of any doll put up for sale these days, I can't imagine putting them on the market would be at all successful. As far as resale value goes? My gang likely won't be worth the time it would take for Granny!Me (Or my nieces and nephews, if I put it off too long!) to list them for sale.

 

My sister and cousin are collectors (not of bjds though) so they have an idea of how expensive things generally are. If anything, they might be able to sell them but I've never thought about it in the long run. Definitely going to make a doc on all of them now.

 

I survived a clinical death and a coma three years ago, and I could never predict the incident to happen to me. I did not think about my things, nor, especially, about dolls. I hope that no such thing will happen to me before I have children, and I would like all my things, including dolls, to go to my inheritors. I think they will be capable enough to dispose of my property responsively. And if I pass away in solitude, well, I hope someone will auction my stuff off. I keep all the original boxes and paperwork, so it's pretty easy to identify my dolls.

 

My family knows exactly how expensive my dolls are and wouldn't let them go for cheap. However if something happened to me prematurely, I have a dear friend who loves dolls too that I would give mine too. Even if she ended up selling them one day I'd rather they go to her first. If for whatever reason she didn't want them I have the names of the sculpts and original prices written down so a family member can sell them. I want whoever ends up with them after I pass to know what they're worth so they don't let them go for $10. I won't have a lot of money to leave my family if I pass this soon, so at least I can leave them a few hundred in resin.

 

I don't think about what will happen to my dolls after I'm gone. I should really give it some thought but I'm too busy to even bother! I know my family are aware of the money I've put into the hobby so they wouldn't just bin them or sell them on for cheap. My husband is the one who would have to pick up the pieces ultimately so they would probably just stay boxed up until he passes tbh.

 

If it is a terminal illness, then I will attempt to on my own - or with my family's assistance - sell the dolls I have. My family will have no idea what to do with them. They aren't the type of play-things my niece and nephew can enjoy currently due to their ages. I'd rather they have the money to use as they wish, and I can die knowing my dolls are going to people who will enjoy them. Unless the illness comes in maturity and the next generation are old enough to take/want them.

Saying that, if it is old age and my niece, nephew, or any children that I may yet have garner interest in my hobby in the meantime, the dolls will go to them. If they want them. If they don't, the dolls will be sold accordingly. If the hobby still exists as widely as it does at present. My niece has only seen my dolls once when she was still very small [she's four now]. She doesn't remember them, as she never asks to see those "big dolls" or anything similar. My nephew has never seen them. I would kind of love it if he became interested. Just because it's a stereotype that boys can't like dolls. It's like saying I can't enjoy Resident Evil and Devil May Cry because I'm a girl. I've always been something of a tomboy at heart and enjoyed the boyish things a little more than pink dresses and unicorns. Give me an armoured charger over a sparkling twinkling pegasus any day of the week!

Getting back on topic; if I was to die suddenly, I'd want my family to make the most [either monetary or sentimentality] out of my dolls. I might, one day when the mood takes me, write out some sort of "plan" or "guide" that I can print out and keep with the dolls' stuff. Prices upon purchase, dates of receipt, receipts and invoices, measurements, sculpts, companies, care-instructions [especially for the ones that aren't resin], etc., etc. So that if my family ever come to the point of needing to sell and I'm not there, they can do so appropriately without being scammed or being accused of scamming. Or they know how to look after them in my stead if they want to keep them as memories of me. Cleaning and stringing instructions, how to keep stains from happening on certain types. The useful stuff. I mean, it's fun for me to do all the research, but I doubt it'd be all that fun in my absence for my family.

Well, to say I've never actually thought it through, this is fairly comprehensive.

 

If I were to die soon, I’d want some of my friends to have their picks to have something to remember me by, especially my friend who got me into this hobby.

If I die old and I still have them, I guess they’d just go to whoever in my family would ant them.

Whatever the scenario, I kind of like the thought of the dolls that aren’t being kept by someone close being “released” into the world to a thrift shop or something, then someone could find them and like them, and maybe not even know what they are or what they are worth and do whatever they want with them.

 

Honestly, I already have some of the basics written out in a notebook. I started writing things out before I had two major surgeries, which I (obviously) survived. I should probably research how much I paid for them originally, but with the market for discontinued sculpts, sculpts from discontinued companies, LEs and one-offs being what it is, I'm a bit hesitant to write down how much I think they are currently worth. I should also think about printing out pics of them and adding them to the notebook, so my family will know what doll is who.

My partner also has BJDs, and is familiar with my Crew, so they know the approximate prices and definitely know about the care instructions.

I'll eventually get around to doing the rest of the things needed "just in case." I might even get insurance on them, after all, they are valuable.

Ryu