How do you address a music collection in your estate plan?

On Behalf of | Oct 31, 2022 | Estate Planning |

Music has always been a big part of your life, and you’ve spent decades building up an impressive collection. You have musical instruments that you play, and you also have CDs and a large collection of vinyl records.

These tangible assets can be put into your estate plan in numerous ways. For instance, you could simply give different items specifically to different heirs in your will. It may be wise to talk with them first to see if there’s anything that they would personally want to have. You can also put the entire collection in your will and instruct your heirs to divide it up as they see fit, which can work very well if they’re all on good terms and they can cooperate. Finally, you could consider putting your assets into a trust, such as if you want to leave them to an heir who is still a minor.

It’s more complicated with digital music

Where things get tricky as if part of your music collection is digital. In many cases, digital music that you’ve purchased is considered to be a reproduction. This means that you don’t really own it the same way that you own physical assets.

For example, in some situations, digital media is actually sold on a license basis. You’re not buying the media itself, but you’re just buying the license to be able to use it. Odds are that the terms of this agreement say that you’re not allowed to pass that license on to anyone else, even an heir.

Things like this can make estate planning a bit more difficult, but there are always options. Just make sure that you know what they are and how to set up the ideal plan for your family.