During an estate assessment, I sat down with my client to go through her mother’s jewelry. Tucked into a tray full of costume pieces was an Art Deco emerald ring. It turned out to be worth $10,000.
She had no idea. And until one looks closely, item by item, neither does anyone else.
This happens more often than you’d think.
I’m Annette Fox, founder of Deaccession NY. In my line of work, helping people understand the value of what they own, I find hidden treasures again and again. Items people have owned for years — inherited, gifted, or simply set aside — that were never given much thought. Sometimes they’re worth exactly what you’d guess. Sometimes, they’re worth far more.
You won’t know unless you look.
The Bigger Question This Raises
That ring was valuable enough to keep — and valuable enough to be properly insured. But it also points to a bigger truth: MOST of us don’t actually know what we own.
If you’re a baby boomer with grown children, you may already know the answer to a question you haven’t asked out loud: your kids don’t want your things. Not the furniture. Not the silver. Not the china, or the artwork you’ve collected over a lifetime. They have their own homes, their own style, their own lives — and increasingly, less space and less interest in inheriting yours.
So the real question becomes: what happens to it all when you’re no longer here? Will you leave your children to sort through decades of belongings, room by room, guessing at what matters and what doesn’t? Or is there something better you could do now, while you’re still here to do it?
A Better Way to Think About What You Own
My job is to help you make that decision with real information instead of guesswork — whether the right move is to sell, donate, hand something down, or simply let something go.
Wouldn’t it be reassuring to have an inventory of your significant possessions, along with their current market value? That’s exactly what DeaccessionNY provides — a clear, comprehensive inventory that becomes the foundation for confident decisions, instead of those made under pressure.
Why Wait?
So many families wait until a loved one has passed and the children are left to make sense of it all, often under emotional and practical pressure, with no idea what’s precious and what’s not.
There’s a better path. Start now. Find out the value of what you own, and what makes sense to do with it — whether that means keeping it, selling it, or donating it — based on what actually benefits you and the people you’ll leave it to.
Even if your plan is still to leave everything to someone else, having a baseline understanding of value provides the information needed to make smart, informed decisions.
Take Control While You Still Can
Deaccession NY helps you understand — and manage —your possessions. You’ve spent a lifetime collecting these things. Let’s make sure you’re in control.
Interested in learning what your possessions are really worth? Get in touch with Deaccession NY to schedule a consultation.