Artwork, jewelry, antiques, real estate, and closely held business interests may carry both financial and personal value. Unlike cash, they may be difficult to divide or sell promptly. Including them deliberately in your estate plan can help the people who will one day manage or receive them.
Create a useful inventory
List significant items, where they are kept, how they are owned, and any documentation of purchase, authenticity, provenance, insurance, or value. Include family pieces whose emotional importance is greater than their likely sale price.
For valuable or unusual property, an appropriately qualified appraiser may be helpful. The valuation should fit its purpose: insurance replacement value, fair market value for tax reporting, and an expected auction result are not necessarily the same. Update the information when the collection or circumstances change.
Decide what you want to happen
You may want a particular person to receive an item, allow beneficiaries to choose among items under a fair process, or direct a sale. Discussing the plan can reveal whether the intended recipient has the interest, space, insurance, or resources to care for the property.
If one beneficiary receives a valuable item, consider whether other beneficiaries should receive different property and how values will be determined. Equal dollar amounts and equal sentimental value are not always the same. Clear instructions can reduce the burden on a fiduciary who is otherwise left to resolve those competing expectations.
Choose the transfer method
A will, a properly funded trust, or another appropriate arrangement can govern the transfer. Florida also permits a separate written list for certain tangible personal property when the will refers to such a list and the statutory requirements are satisfied. That procedure does not apply to every kind of asset.
Tax consequences deserve attention. Inherited property often receives a basis adjustment, but a later sale does not necessarily produce minimal capital-gains tax. Lifetime gifts generally involve different basis rules, and collectibles can have their own tax treatment. Significant items should be discussed with the relevant tax adviser.
Liquidity matters, too. An estate may need cash for expenses, insurance, storage, taxes, or other obligations while a specialized asset is valued or marketed. Giving a fiduciary a workable management and sale framework can be as important as naming the eventual recipient.
We can help incorporate these choices into your Florida estate plan, with attention to both the property’s value and its meaning to your family.
Sources: Separate writing for tangible personal property; IRS basis of inherited property.
Updated October 26, 2026.