8mm Forum: Who would you will your film collection to?

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Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on October 12, 2016, 07:15 AM:

My wife was an only child and her mother died young without a will. Her father's story is a little more complex. Anyway, her mother had a lot of possessions. Having an only one child, she probably felt there was little need for a will.

So while still grieving my wife had to figure out what to do with all her mother's things. Even if she would have wanted to, she couldn't have possibly kept everything. She asked aunts and uncles if they wanted certain items, but many were in other parts of the country and wasn't practical to distribute very much. Some guidance from her mom, at least as far as knowing what was important to her would have helped.

As a result, since before we were even middle aged, my wife and I have had a will, though it probably needs to be updated. Most of her mother's possessions were given away, sold, or discarded, some of which my wife now wishes she would have found a way to keep. She was overwhelmed at the time.

Given that your film collections have been growing over years and maybe decades in some cases, have you considered what you want to happen to them once you're gone? I'm not expecting you to name individual benefactors, just curious if you've given it some thought.

Would it go to individuals, some sort of film society, or have you figured out a way to bring them with you into the next life? [Smile]

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on October 12, 2016, 07:51 AM:

Things vary from one country to another and, if I'm not mistaking, in the USA like in many other places in the world you are free to give after your death what you have to anyone you choose. It is different in Belgium. First, if you have children, you must give them a part of your belongings. If you don't, your will is not valid. The rule is that if you have one child, you must let him 50 %, if you have, two children, you must give them each 33%, if there are three, they receive 25% each and so on. If you're married with a contract, there is also a part for your wife (I will not detail all the Belgian legislation, here :-) Then, the government takes a pourcentage of what people inherit. So between parents and children it is around 7 %, between uncle and nephew, it is around 30% but if you want to give someting to someone who has no familly link with you, the government will be the winner as he will get 80 %. As I'm not married, have no children and not even a nephew, I am not optimistic about what my collection will become after me...

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on October 12, 2016, 09:22 AM:

Is there a certain threshold of value below which the Belgian government no longer cares Dominique?

My wife's mother had been in poor health for a long time. We'd been paying for her medical insurance since before we were married. Anything she owned aside from her house that had had any significant value had long since been sold to cover bills. But she did have a lot of odds and ends. Old furniture, sporting goods, tons of outdated clothes, many of which had never been worn, etc.

A super 8 film collection is one of those things that I think would be difficult to put a monetary value on without having some expertise and spending a lot of time going through it.

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on October 12, 2016, 09:38 AM:

Whatever I have left will most likely be auctioned off on eBay by my kids [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on October 12, 2016, 09:52 AM:

Tom, I tried to make it simple but since you asked...When I mentionned the government, I should have mentionned the governmentS as since last year the situation is different depending one of the three areas of the country (don't laugh but but have more ministers in Belgium than in the United Sates !) So In Brussels, the minimum you pay (for a legacy between people who have no family link) is 40% and that starts from the first eurocent (until 50.000 €). Then it is 55 % (until 75.000€), then 65% (until 175.000) and finally 80 %. So if you own a house or a flat, it is almost impossible to make a legacy for someone who is not from your close familly as the taxes are so high that the heir would have to resell the good he was supposed to receive in order to pay the high percentages applied here...

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 12, 2016, 11:55 AM:

I would will my collection to my Kids, probably Devin over heather, as Devin shows great interest in my collection, with the one provision that he keeps it and doesn't just attempt to sell them in which case, there would be a provision that in the case of that, it would go to some preservation society. I want someone to have my collection that would cherish it and not just look at it as a way to make an easy buck!

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on October 12, 2016, 12:02 PM:

Interesting Dominique. I wonder how that works in practice. Let's say you wanted to give one of your less valuable films to a friend who you know enjoyed it. Suppose it's worth roughly 20.000 €. Your friend would then owe 8.000 € to the Belgian/local government, correct? Is it an honor system or is there some formal way that these things are tracked?

I don't collect films but without really intending to, I've found that I now have small collection of Super 8 and 35mm film cameras. There are three 8mm/Super 8 cameras and 4 SLRs. In all cases but two, the original owners are dead. In fact two of them came from Ebay and were described as part of someone's estate. Makes me wonder about the photos and film that were taken with them.

Anyway, I have the warranty card with the original owner's name with one Super 8 camera. Another sat in the box 50 years and was never opened, along with 3 others.

Aside from my father's 8mm camera, I have no sentimental attachment to any of them (yet) and plan on giving at least one away very soon. I might sell another if I can fix it, otherwise I'll give that one away too. If I were to die next year though, that would leave 5 cameras that I doubt my wife, kids, extended family or any friends would have any interest in. They are almost not worth the trouble of selling and in that sense they are more burden than gift. You never know what your kids might valuable though. I have a few things in my attic that are from my parents' house that they probably never imagined anyone would keep.

Posted by John Armer (Member # 4655) on October 12, 2016, 12:19 PM:

I think the important thing to remember here is that, if your wife / partner / etc inherits your film collection:

Under no circumstances should they sell it for the amount you told them you paid for it.

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on October 12, 2016, 12:23 PM:

That's exactly that, Tom, in your example the government would take 8.000 € from the heir...

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on October 12, 2016, 02:41 PM:

Not sure why I'm interested. It's very clear that many of you take great care of your collection and that some titles in the right condition are worth a lot of money. But I can tell you that if my wife had come across a box of Super 8 films in her mother's house that weren't home movies, there's a very good chance she would have just thrown them away, - even if some of them had Star Wars or Grizzly Adams in the title.

I guess I find it intriguing that something with so little value among the general populace could have such great value to certain individuals. But I suppose that's true of a lot of things.

Then there's sentimental value. I still have a plastic, toy accordion that I got for Christmas when I was 7. I keep it because it was the last gift my father gave me. I can't imagine it would have any value to my kids so sometimes I question why I still have it. It sits in a storage trunk and I don't see it for years at a time. But In a strange way, I'd feel like I was being disloyal to my father if I didn't hold on to it.

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on October 12, 2016, 02:45 PM:

I've been slowly giving films away as I go - My family wouldn't know what to do, unless I left a detailed instruction list - In the long run, while I have an important library containing some very rare, albeit scarce shorts, I feel a dedicated fellow collector is the way to go - No archive that I know of would allocate a Super 8/Std 8 collection, though that might change - Several past collectors have left many films to me, and I safeguard them to this day - In turn, I will help others - Shorty

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on October 12, 2016, 02:54 PM:

I think that's probably the way to go Shorty if it's possible. Find people that will appreciate them the way you do.

Posted by Michael Lattavo (Member # 4280) on October 12, 2016, 08:06 PM:

I'm sure you've heard the saying that one man's junk is another man's treasure. Well, it goes the other way as well I guess. One man's treasure is another man's junk. I don't worry about it, as I figure I'll be gone regardless - hopefully in some ib tech heaven!

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 12, 2016, 08:45 PM:

Who knows, maybe fifty years from now there will be one last working projector on a shelf in Steven's house as a reminder of Dad (his Dad...not Mine!). Maybe there wiil be a couple of surviving prints he can show on my birthday.

-because I would be 104 then and films or not I'm not sure I want to live that long!

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 13, 2016, 12:30 PM:

" even if some of them had Star Wars or Grizzly Adams in the title. "

Ohhh Tom ... say it "taint' so!!
[Frown]

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on October 13, 2016, 01:59 PM:

Steve, you should print your message and leave it somewhere your kid can find it one day.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 13, 2016, 03:58 PM:

This might count as a place he can find it!

-he lurks here, especially this close to CineSea!

That's right: we're talking about YOU!

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on October 13, 2016, 04:18 PM:

Fantastic !

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on October 13, 2016, 11:39 PM:

Agreed, what a wonderful way to celebrate the life and memory of a loved one, - to do something they enjoyed on their birthday.

Take note young Mr. Klare [Smile]

And thank you Steve! I will start remembering my parents in the same fashion.

[ October 14, 2016, 10:51 AM: Message edited by: Tom Spielman ]

Posted by Ken Finch (Member # 2768) on October 14, 2016, 10:39 AM:

I have told my children that they should keep my "Home Movies" as they are part of our family history and can be transferred to whatever digital media comes along in the future. These are all on 9,5mm. I am providing them with DVD transfers which I suggest they can then transfer on to the next media when necessary, but still have the original to fall back on. They already have DVD copies of family movies made on video. I have made "memory boxes" for all the grandchildren and they have copies to keep in them. The equipment and my large library of films mainly 9.5mm silent should be sold via one of my Group 9.5mm friends for whatever they can get for them. At least they will go to someone who is a fellow enthusiast. The same would apply to projectors, DVDs and VHS films, and other equipment I have purchased, over the past 70 years. I am already trying to dispose of some of it, which I am finding this very difficult to do. As fellow collectors I expect you understand this. The next owner of our property will have a Mini replica of a 1930s 15 seater cinema to deal with!! Ken Finch. [Razz]

Posted by Tom Spielman (Member # 5352) on October 14, 2016, 11:03 AM:

I hope that the next owner maintains that cinema properly Ken! That would be such a unique and fun thing to have in ones home.

It sounds like you've planned things out pretty well. Maybe it was a generational thing or maybe it's just because I've seen things go badly but my parents really didn't give much thought to what would happen after they were gone and I plan to do it differently.

I'm sure it was my parents view that we siblings and our respective spouses would all harmoniously figure stuff out after they were gone. Wrong! Actually, in the end it didn't turn out too bad and we all still get along, but there was some discord. It may have contributed to one divorce but that marriage probably wouldn't have lasted anyway. It's not even that anyone was being particularly selfish, there are just lots of decisions to be made and too many emotionally raw people involved in making them.

[ October 14, 2016, 02:57 PM: Message edited by: Tom Spielman ]

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on October 14, 2016, 02:24 PM:

I'm hoping to squeeze a Sankyo 800 with what's left of my films into the coffin to go with me 😬

Oh and I will need a small screen and an extension lead 😀

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