[Elecraft] SK Station Disposition

[Edward Dauer]

Related to the thread on helping other hams' families deal with their
stations after they go SK, there is an idea that I think I mentioned on the
Reflector a couple of years ago, but which may be worth repeating given
that the general subject has come up again.  I have to begin but saying
that, though a lawyer myself, I should not be understood as offering legal
advice with the following note.  I mention it only as something anyone
interested might want to pursue with their own counsel.

Wills are complex instruments and, by themselves, sometimes cumbersome in
dealing with personal property -- like amateur radio equipment -- that may
change in shape and value over time.  Amending a will can sometimes be a
big, by which I mean costly, deal.  In many states, if not most, there is
another way.  It's called various things in various places, though where I
live it's called a Memorandum Disposition of Personal Property.  It's a
document that anyone can write, amend, tear up, whatever, at any time
without going through the trouble of amending a will or a trust.  If the
Will correctly refers to it, the document becomes an effective way of
directing the disposition of tangible personal property.  Using the proper
form at the outset I can describe what I want to have happen to my station,
or any piece of it, in a simple document that alone can write.  If the
equipment list changes, and I want to change where the rest goes, I can
change the Memorandum.  No need to amend the Will or a testamentary trust.

I should stop there, and say only that it's not widely known but t's worth
looking into.

Ted, KN1CBR