Valuable personal property can sit outside even a sophisticated wealth plan. Art and collectibles are a prime example. Sometimes these assets are not raised because their owners do not consider themselves collectors. In other cases, the assets are well known - even highly significant - but the professional requirements surrounding valuation, insurance, tax, transfer, or disposition are less clearly understood.

Art and collectibles are often among a family's most visible possessions - and among tis least visible planning assets. This article examines how incomplete inventories, unclear ownership, missing documentation, outdated valuations, and cross-border complexity can create risk. It also outlines practical steps collectors, families, attorneys, fiduciaries, and advisors can take before death, incapacity, donation, audit, or family transition forces these issues into view.