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Information for those who have decided to name the LA&M among the beneficiaries in their wills. NOTE: This is not a legal document and should not be treated as legal advice. It is only information that the Executive Director and the Board of Directors of the Leather Archives and Museum believe will be helpful to you and your lawyer(s) in preparing for will. If you have decided to leave something to the LA&M in your will, you should probably consult a lawyer either before you write your will or, if the estate is not complex, after you have prepared a standard will. A lawyer will be able to tell you whether you have described your intentions in a way that will create or avoid confusion later. Your lawyer might wish to know a little about the LA&M. Our current brochure may provide all the information he or she requires. The current brochure is very similar to older editions, except that it confirms the fact that the LA&M has been given 501 ( c) (3) status under the federal tax code. Click here to request a current brochure. For each item or category of items donated (or bequeathed) to the LA&M, please be sure the description of the gift in your will leaves no room for question about what is being given. For example, not "my books about leathersex," but a list of titles or a definite location, described in such a way that it could not be mistaken or changed, such as "the box, addressed to the LA&M in my closet which contains 32 books about leather sex." And, if it might be necessary, be sure to explain the extent of the gift. This means we need to know from you if you own the item(s) outright and are transferring all rights of ownership, or if you share ownership and are transferring only certain rights. Be specific. Of course, this concern does not apply to most physical personal property. For each reproducible item or category of items and for any intellectual products-such as photo- graphs, works of art, stories or other kinds of original writing-if these are your own, we need to have a specific statement transferring the copyright to the LA&M or outlining what rights are transferred. If there are already uses and assignments of copyright for donated or bequeathed materials granted to others, these previously granted uses should be explained, including their limitations and terminations and, where possible, providing the LA&M with copies of the documentation in which the assignment was made. If there are royalties or other (potential) future income from these uses of copyrighted material, you should say specifically whether you are or are not transferring the right to this future income to the LA&M or to some other beneficiary . With regard to all items together, individual items or categories of items, we need a statement either telling us what limitations (if any) there are on the uses of the gift-including the possibility of trading, depositing or otherwise transferring the material to other facilities. These limitations might explain legal entanglements to which the items or the estate would be already committed or limitations based solely on your personal wishes. In any case, it is the reasonable position of the LA&M to wish for no limitations if that is possible. In addition to the above necessary pieces of information, here are other things you will want to think about and decide, some of them may also effect how your will is written:
•Would you like to leave any money or disposable assets (meaning any items outside the purview of the LA&M, which might be sold to raise money) to the LA&M to help with the costs of conservation, preservation and general maintenance of your bequest and/or the LA&M's general collection. •Is there any person who, by your wishes, should have any special access to the items in your bequest to the LA&M, and, if so, are there limits you would like to have imposed on this special access. •Are there people to whom you should communicate you wishes about this bequest now? This means, are there people who might expect that some items being left to the LA&M would have or should have been left to them? If so, you should tell them your intentions now to help your executor and the LA&M avoid legal and interpersonal problems later.
Here is information about how to contact the LA&M. Be sure this information is available to the executor(s) of your estate so they will be able to carry out your wishes. It would be wise to include some means of contacting the LA&M in the text of your will. You may believe your executor has this information, but it is best to err on the side of caution and preparedness. LEATHER ARCHIVES & MUSEUM Office phone: (773) 761-9200 If there is no answer at the LA&M office phone, you may leave a message there (even though the outgoing message may say the machine does not record messages), or you may want to contact LA&M's Executive Director Rick Storer. In addition to this information, you should also have the general brochure of the LA&M and the special brochure titled A Guide to Preserving Your Past. These brochures should be given to you when you receive this information. Click here to request the brochures. If you have decided to leave something to the LA&M in your will, you should probably consult a lawyer either before you write your will or, if the estate is not complex, after you have prepared a standard will. A lawyer will be able to tell you whether you have described your intentions in a way that will create or avoid confusion later. Your lawyer might wish to know a little about the LA&M. Our current brochure may provide all the information he or she require'). The current brochure is very similar to older editions, except that it confirms the fact that the LA&M has been given 501 (c)3 status under the federal tax code. These are questions and concerns a person with a relatively simple estate would address when writing or rewriting a will You may insert all the information mentioned here in your will or a codicil to your will or you may answer many of the questions in a letter of instruction to the LA&M now or at any time. It is, in fact, preferable to do both. Your actual bequest, of course, must be made in the will, the instructions and limitations (if any) regarding your gift, if not outlined in the will, should be referred to as "already described and detailed to the beneficiary in a letter dated such and such, " and a copy of the letter should be attached to the will for reference. If you or your lawyer have any more questions after you are familiar with this information, please direct your inquiries to the Executive Director at the LA&M, Rick Storer. He will have our officers or lawyers answer any questions which he is unable or unqualified to answer. |
