<aside> ❓ Who Gets Nona’s Cameo?
Identifying, Protecting, Valuing and Distributing Estate Household Goods and Personal Effects in British Columbia
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By: Nicole Garton, President, Heritage Trust
<aside> ⚠️ Disclaimer: These materials do not constitute legal advice. The information contained in this guide has been prepared to assist executors to administer estate personal property. Given the changing nature of the law, executors should exercise their own judgment when reviewing the content and seek legal and other expert advice whenever required.
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This beautiful hand-carved, shell cameo, originating from late 19th century Italy, was passed down by the author's great-grandmother Emanuela Berardino (nee Giliberti), who was born January 27, 1895 in San Michele di Serino, Province of Avellino, Campania, Italy.
This beautiful sterling silver tea service, originating from Victorian-era England, was passed down by the author's great-grandmother Catherine Mary Whitlaw (nee Livingstone), who was born November 7, 1904, in Deloraine, Manitoba, pictured as a newlywed in 1927 with her husband George (Whit) Whitlaw.
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Many people possess objects they feel are almost part of themselves. These cherished objects, and the stories they tell, are often bound up with their personal identity and form part of the narrative of how they see themselves as persons in the world. Across the generations, precious objects can symbolize personal meaning, knowledge, values and shared history - for individuals, for families and for society.
The things people own do not die when they die. Wealth, or the value of property, is relatively immortal. Further, personal property with insignificant economic value may have tremendous symbolic value to the testator and beneficiary. Which leads to what estate planning is essentially about: assisting clients to extend their personal identity, life work and accumulated property into the future to outlive their physical selves.
The desire to somehow transcend mortality and sustain one's identity beyond the grave is both universal and strong. People wish to prepare their property for immortality and feel better when they formulate a plan, finalize it and thereby prepare to transcend the grave. Clients' inherent desires to transcend their limited existence by ensuring their property is passed down as they choose is echoed in the phrase we often hear as estate planners: the wish for "peace of mind."
Of all the critical tasks entrusted to a personal representative, the task of identifying, protecting, valuing and distributing a deceased's personal property is a fundamental and important one, both legal and symbolic.
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