DEAR ERIC: I don’t know if you can help me. I’m a 73-year-old divorced woman without children and no one to leave my good things to. I don’t want them all to wind up at Goodwill (nothing against Goodwill). Some of these things are really nice. Do you have any ideas?
– Stuck with the Goods
DEAR GOODS: This is an opportunity to think about what kind of second (or third, or fourth) life you’d like your belongings to have. Each item may have a different path, but by thinking about it in advance, you get to be specific and intentional. For instance, if you have art, ask yourself what’s the most good that art can do. Perhaps this means working with an appraiser or auction house to set up the sale of the art and directing the funds to a charity you support. Perhaps that means reaching out to friends and asking them if there are pieces that they would want…