This month we see a few cautionary tales that stress the need for even minimal advance planning for ... unforeseen events. Preserving one's legacy for heirs - or the future generations who see that legacy as history and cultural treasure - can be the most important thing that never gets done in time.
So the "cleaner" wants $20,000.00 in garbage bags and other tools to "clean out" the late Aretha Franklin's estate and organize the memorabilia so it can be appraised. I wonder how much the appraiser will get? And the lawyers? And the IRS? Ah, yes, the value of a good appraiser cannot be underestimated! The tangle here could have been avoided if Aretha or her handlers had had an appraisal done before her passing.
Yet another look at the museum-quality level of the rarest, most valuable records in the world. Some of these are unique items, like the single manufactured LP by Jean-Michel Jarre or the Beatles and Elvis acetates. But other items simply got ignored and were passed by at the time. I remember seeing that Rolling Stones picture sleeve in my local record store. Wah!
The reality is that many artists do not recognize the value of their own memorabilia until it is too late. Besides the personal loss of a tragedy like this, there's also the historical and cultural heritage that is lost to all of us.
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Stephen M. H. Braitman has been involved with records and music most of his life. His widely acknowledged expertise in the marketplace makes his appraisal service an important component of estate planning, court and arbitration expert testimony, and insurance coverage and claims.
Stephen is an Accredited Senior Appraiser as a member of the American Society of Appraisers, active in the Northern California chapter. He is the ONLY senior appraiser with a focus on music recordings and memorabilia. He is also a member of the Association of Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC).
