No. 1: Are those collectibles even valuable?

Financial planners can tell a lot of good stories about clients who believe they have a valuable collection of trading cards, Beanie Babies or other collectibles.

The planners and other experts who helped me compile this mini guide to the key planning and tax questions about collectibles told me that assessing the actual value represents an essential first step. If the items are actually valuable (and they're probably not), the question becomes, what is the client's goal for these collectibles and would they like to pass them on someday?

Find more in the story below. And have a great week.