Life Is Short, Art Is Long: Maximizing Estate Planning Strategies for Collectors of Art, Antiques, and Collectibles (Paperback)

~ Michael Mendelsohn (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 443 pages
• Publisher: Acanthus Publishing (January 30, 2007)
• ISBN-10: 1933631317
• ISBN-13: 978-1933631318
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #301,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful and eye-opening, April 30, 2007

By	Boston Reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life is Short Art is Long (Paperback)

I truly believe that this book is a must-read for anyone interested in art. The book is divided into two sections, the first for collectors and the second for financial advisors.

In the first section, Mendelsohn (named one of the top 100 collectors by Art + Antiques Magazine) tells the reader about his own journey collecting art. He provides incredibly valuable tips for other aspiring collectors--such as why you need to get to the auction house early, how to be the first one a dealer calls when a new piece comes on the market, and how to strategically plan a collection's growth. These insider tips make any art lover feel confident about stepping foot into a gallery or auction house to build a world-class collection.

The second section is devoted to planning for the future of a collection. While almost all of us have financial planners, insurance agents, and lawyers to help us plan for our lives, our investments, and our estates, few have someone helping them plan for their art and antique assets. Mendelsohn points out that failing to plan for these pieces can result in losses of over 70%! Therefore, this second half of the book is devoted to helping collectors and their financial advisors plan for their art more effectively.

It's a great resource and I highly recommend it to anyone with a substantial amount of time and money invested in art and antiques.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What's with that cover art?, April 14, 2007

By	Jamesian "pragma" (Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life is Short Art is Long (Paperback)

The cover illustration appears to be of a wooden doll hanging upside down. My copy doesn't contain any explanation of this, except to give the designer of that cover a name: Sarah Martin.

The author apparently collects folk art, including wooden dolls (a particular set of dolls is prominently mentioned in the text -- although I have no ideal whether this is one of those).

There are lots of loose threads in this book -- estate planning for people in possession of valuable collections and eager to minimize tax losses is a topic worthy of books. In time, I hope, it will prove worthy of a better book than this.