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

Bonger I get the feeling you're not a clock aficianado OP ...

If a museum has a picture of the clock then surely they'd jump at the chance to display the real thing. The museum gets a new item, you get to feel like a dashing philanthropist, it's a win-win situation.

was made with only one hand
Ops ancestor was either a famous one handed clock maker or made a clock with only one hand. Is that like the emperors new clothes?

Bonger grin I get the feeling you're not a clock aficianado OP

Whatever are you talking about? It's the technical term as used by all serious horologists.

It's deliberately known as that in the trade to distinguish it from (sorry to use more technical jargon) the 'stick with a bobble on' as used to play xylophones

A will can be changed so don't worry what it says now. You can refuse a bequest when the will is executed.

Am I the only one who, before you confirmed it was a clock, was hoping it was an antique ram castrator

Erm, yes, yes, you are! Very specific. Looks at poster sideways with suspicious look....

My mother has a grandmother (?) clock. My dad used to stop it ticking for my visits because I hate it so much. She’s now told me I have to have it. She lives 5 hours away. I’m the executor of the will. I will be having a house clearance. I want nothing from there, none of it is my taste. Apparently I also need to take the Victorian tiled fireplace. Sweet Lord!

Ha ha! This could be my m
um! She's convinced that everything she owns is valuable. None of it is. She wants me to have all her 'antique' furniture because my brother "would just sell it"

Little does she know...! And needless to say, my brother is very grateful he won't have to be the one sending it all to the charity furniture shop!

Oh god, give in to the museum. Actually can't you convince the potential deceased person to do just that, afterall the museum will look after and love it. You might bash it with the hoover/dc might break it etc.

My db bought our dps a grandfather clock for their 25th anniversary, it's beautiful, I really love it but its so loud.

@Miljah that clock would look brilliant in my neighbours garden.

I wonder if @Laiste is related to my (fortunately not close) relative who's obsessed with grandfather clocks?

@Grambler - sorry. It has only one hand. The little one. The hour hand. When it points half way between the 1 and 2 then it's half past 1, and so on. When it's just gone past the 4 then it's just gone 4, ect.

Made back in a time when counting minutes didn't matter so much in life i guess?

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll i can't tell for certain if you're joking or it really is 'bonger'!

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to post by the way. Lots of useful info. i'm taking it in.

To the pp who also has a loud bonger, we used a couple of fingers chopped off an old leather glove. It did work for a bit, but as i say the leather wore away quite quckly. The whole bloody house shakes if you let the clock do it's thing. At the 12hour everyone is like waiting for it to stop. The bell has not got the worlds most attractive chime either ...

It came into the family via my GGF, who was given it in lieu of a debit.

I inherited quite a few pieces from my father that related to a company that he worked for. Too valuable to just throw away, but not something that I would ever put on display. One of the museums was putting together a permanent exhibit based on this company, so they are on loan to the museum (have an agreement for 20 years at this point). It's quite nice, I get regular invites to cocktail parties and various other events as a patron, people get to see the items, and I have one less box of stuff I'll never use sitting in my garage.

Isn’t it a striker? And it’s called a long case clock I think.

Am I the only one who, before you confirmed it was a clock, was hoping it was an antique ram castrator

Erm, yes, yes, you are! Very specific. Looks at poster sideways with suspicious look....

I'm not quite that weird - promise! There was a brilliant thread some time ago where the OP wanted to give a quite valuable antique to a friend's father rather than sell it themselves purely because they knew he would gain great pleasure from owning it (related to his beloved career before retirement), only the 'friends' saw pound signs and wanted to flog it and keep the loot themselves instead of passing it on to their father. It wasn't stated exactly the item was (too outing), so the OP assigned 'antique ram castrator' to it

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll i can't tell for certain if you're joking or it really is 'bonger'!

Sorry, no, I was joking - I'm a complete fraud

It so should be officially called a bonger, though!

Shameless link for Antique Ram Castrator thread (this is only part 1) - it's a cracking read!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3106500-CF-friend-or-AIBU

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll thank you for just wasting 3 hours of my life!

Depends on if ownership is transferred. Sometimes the estate loans you an item. Like, you can live in the house until you die, but then it will be sold and the money divided among these people kind of thing.

Once something is left to you it is yours to do what you want.

If you were to inherit this item outright, rather than through a trust, then it is yours to do as you wish. Outright gifts are given free and clear of restrictions.

I haven't read the full thread but surely if you don't wind it up that solves the noise problem?

Not winding it up would seem like a good idea, but the oil in clocks can be sticky and they can seize up if the parts are not moving, then it would need a potentially expensive service and set up to get it running again

That clock is very old (with only one hand) but it may still have a separate winder for the movement and for the bonger...in which case you could just wind the movement and not the strike

Ooooh @Laiste- sounds fab. Please can we have a photo (now that we know so much about the clock)? It sounds priceless so definitely start contacting museums to see which one would take it off your hands but protect it.

The British museum has a room of clocks. Is it like this? If you donate it, you'll have your name listed as the benefactor/benefactress!