Whether you're a closet Hendrix or just know three chords of "Wonderwall," your instruments (and other cool gear) are "tangible personal property." And strangely, this is the stuff people fight over the most.
History is littered with rockstars who forgot to sign on the dotted line. Prince died without a Will, leaving a $156 million estate to be fought over for six years. Aretha Franklin's family found three different Wills, including one under the couch cushions. Unless you want your family staging a battle of the bands in front of a probate judge, you need to be specific.
Nobody fights over the liquid cash. They fight over the 1965 Gibson Les Paul and the "sentimental" gold watch.
Action plan
- Make a Personal Property Memorandum: a list of your "cool stuff" and who gets it.
- Take photos of your high-value items and store them with your legal documents.