Many baby boomers are in a position where they are called upon to be an executor or executrix of an estate.
They may also be involved with helping a relative find a new living situation as they down-size or move to assisted living. Both experiences are very emotional. You may be dealing with matters involving insurance,care givers, attorneys,and finding new housing.There are many businesses whose goal is to help in navigating through all of these issues. If you ever need any of these services,please email or call me if you’d like referrals.
We get our calls from a variety of sources. We receive many referrals from past clients or calls asking us to sell additional items for them.We are also contacted by attorneys,realtors,executors or executrixes.
In many cases,people are looking for advice on how to handle their specific situation. Every situation is different.There are two articles on auctionbytes.com that I’ve written that are good primers on what to do with an estate. If you search my last name,“tuiskula”in the auctionbytes.com search window you can find “Getting the Most out of an Estate”and “New Ideas for Selling Estates.” They can help guide you through the process.
Our appraisal services are often needed for estate and insurance purposes.Attorneys typically refer me to clients who need appraisals of decedent estates.A qualified appraiser should be able to provide USPAP certified appraisals for IRS purposes.It is very important that the appraiser is very knowledgeable about the items that they are appraising.We have over 25 years of selling antiques and specialize in home contents.We have GPPA credentials from the National Auctioneers Association and hold membership in that organization as well as other national organizations. More importantly, you want to make sure that the person who appraises your items is very knowledgeable. Questions on how long they have been selling antiques, what shows and stores they sell or sold at are all important. Also,find a few items around your house and ask the appraiser to identify them and tell you what they know about them in terms of age and how they were made to gauge their level of expertise.
I’m often called into estate situations where people are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of items and emotion involved.We are able to sort through the items and make our recommendations. We regularly run antique auctions and may include some of the higher priced, more desirable items at auction where we offer them to a world-wide audience. We may decide that an estate sale is the best way to sell remaining items and offer that service. We also offer suggestions on donating other items or perform a clean-out if needed. Our goal is to maximize profit and to make the process as easy as possible for our clients.
I am confident that a recent suggestion that we made will bring a consignor great results in our winter auction. A relative of theirs had been a sports editor for a Worcester newspaper. They consigned some 1920’s press photos of ports legends like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jack Dempsey and Bobby Jones. They asked me to sell them in my September sale but the ad deadline had passed.I strongly recommended that I advertise them properly and sell them in a later sale.They agreed and I’m expecting a big win with the sports photos!
If you have any questions about antique auctions and estate sales, call Wayne Tuiskula, Auctioneer/Appraiser at 508-612-6111 or email us today.
Our articles are published in the Webster Times, Spencer New Leader, Auburn News, Blackstone Valley Tribune, Charlton Villager, Killingly Villager, Putnam Villager, Sturbridge Villager, Thompson Villager and Woodstock Villager.
