Is it possible to put a clause in a will to stop someone selling something after you're dead?

[Laiste]

Just that really.

I've always been told that a certain object must stay in my life forever because it's In The Will That It Must Never Be Sold.

This has been told to me since i was a child and i've always grudgingly accepted it - suddenly i'm wondering .... is this even a real thing? i feel a bit daft for asking

I'd just say, "OK, that's fine" and let her think what she wants.

School rum? I'm feeling hard done by now. Never in the total schooling history of four children have I come across school rum. Must move nearer to you before we have grandchildren

Get proper legal advice. My dad was a lawyer and when someone asked him for advice on a hypothetical situation or a ‘what if’ question, he always replied that a lawyer couldn’t and shouldn’t give advice without knowing the actual facts and/or seeing the actual documents. So ask for a copy of the will, and bring it to a lawyer. Other than that, all other answers are pure speculation.

You can always tell the current owner to will it elsewhere, if you really don’t want it in your life. Personally, I’d love a piece of history like this...

I inherited a ring. It's very valuable and I was told not to sell it before she died.
I don't wear it but weirdly I can't bring myself to sell it .

Is it valuable?

School rum

I like your style.

DH has an inherited clock which I loathe. It dominates the room & our hall is narrow. When we move again it will be to a new house as they have lower ceilings and it just won't physically fit.

I have a grandfather clock coming my way, in my DM’s will - and I am somewhat conflicted about it. On the one hand, it has been in the family for years - I would definitely be the third generation to own it - and it was a part of my childhood. But it doesn’t fit in with anything in dh’s and my home, and I can’t see any of my boys wanting it after I go.

Maybe we should form a support group, @Laiste - the Unwanted Clock Club!

I fell down a wiki-hole on this a while ago, but I can't find my way back to it (got there through breaking an entail / Gloria Vanderbilt / some things else, Jarndyce v Jarndyce etc etc). Basically, unless it is left in trust, no you can't.

Somewhere in the wiki-hole I came across a guy who had left his estate to his descendants alive 21 years after the last of his grandchildren had died - he died in 1919 and the descendants inherited in 2010... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_R._Burt

Aha! have found it - its the rule against perpetuities:

Specifically, the rule forbids a person from creating future interests (traditionally contingent remainders and executory interests) in property that would vest beyond 21 years after the lifetimes of those living at the time of creation of the interest. In essence, the rule prevents a person from putting qualifications and criteria in a deed or a will that would continue to affect the ownership of property long after he or she has died, a concept often referred to as control by the "dead hand" or "mortmain".

There will be a period of time after the death, and before the will reading, when you will have to get the house cleared won't there?

Wish there was an edit function! When I said 'No, you can't', I meant you can't specify in a will that it can never be sold, unless a trust is set up and you leave the lifetime interest to someone.

I think it's quite sad to sell something that's been in the family for years. When my g grandad died, my grandad was totally unsentimental and sold everything. With the internet, I happened upon an old medal of his, dating back to the 1880s. I spent £1,000 buying it back, almost a hundred years later.

I was imagining some sort of Aztec crystal skull when I read the OP's opening post. Maybe that is just the way my mind works.

You could donate a historical clock to a museum...of clocks. Bet there is one somewhere.

I don't think you have to accept anything allowed to you in a will; if you don't want the clock tell the executor of the will that you won't accept it.

Secret drawer! (Now reading back through thread) Ohh. Never thought of that possibility. I think there's a great story to be written here, whatever happens to the clock.

You'll have to move it to your house and accidents happen when things get moved..... be a terrible shame it it got dropped/someone left the boot of the car open (grief and not thinking straight etc)/someone nicked it after you left it on the pavement to move the car closer etc

I’m liking the sound of that school rum

What’s with all the “oh dear, what if it’s accidentally smashed, tee hee” childish posts . Let it go to someone who actually wants it, no need to be an arsehole.

So there you have it, OP. Just dont mention to the will writer about needing to put the clock in trust, and it looks like you will be able to do what you want after inheriting it.

IceQueenCometh, I'm very curious what kind of thing you wouldn't want money spent on.

No, not in my experience. One of my in-laws wanted to put something in their will about never selling part of their land to a specific person and the solicitor told them it wasn't possible.

They can bequeath (leave) the clock to you in the will, no-one can force you to keep it.

I would check how much you are going to be paying for insurance of said clock, then decide..
Meanwhile I’ve mislaid ie. hidden a stonkingly big heirloom ring.. i can feel the ghosts gathering....

What HeadintheiClouds said. If you don’t want to be the heirloom caretaker, state so now.

I know someone whose family have a grandfather clock worth around £50k which is not to be sold but passed on - i think there maybe some codicil or something attached to the will. I think if all family members and executors are in agreement it could be sold after death and the money split - but dont know for sure.