Stuff that matters

If there is one thing that this job has shown me, it is that you can never predict what’s round the corner – or what’s behind the door of a deceased person’s house.

I was recently asked to help a lay executor in an estate that included some slightly out-of-the-ordinary items. The deceased had a clear interest in the art of preparing, stuffing and mounting animal skins with lifelike effect, both as a collector of other people’s efforts and a bit of a hobbyist himself.

Initially, I had a vague panic about the dangerous chemicals involved in the process so I steered clear of the bottles of skeletal bleach and degreaser. In fact, these are no more harmful than normal household cleaning products.

As I discovered in my previous dealings with a tiger skin, there are strict rules about what can be done with animal by-products. And while there are collectors, the key issue is provenance. Taxidermy done on roadkill by keen amateurs does not have a resale value.

In getting to the bottom of what everything was and how it should be dealt with, I found the Guild of Taxidermists and UK Taxidermy Law to be really helpful. Through these, I know that the deceased wouldn’t have needed any form of licence to practise his art on foxes and grey squirrels, which seemed to be his favourites.

Having worked through the items carefully, there wasn’t anything that contravened any regulations. So the issue was disposal: should the critters be taken to the tip or was something more specialised required?

Well, I can confirm that anything mounted or partly mounted and any preserved skins can be taken to the normal tip as there is no health risk. There are rules that apply when dealing with carcasses, however.

You only need to involve a registered abattoir or incineration unit if you’re dealing with farm or zoo animals. It was relatively straightforward to deal with, although I did feel strange as I loaded bin liners full of stuffed animals in to my car.

Surrendering weapons

It may be an obvious link when considered alongside the taxidermy, but the deceased also had a shotgun – something his executor knew nothing about. If you don’t come from a background where guns form part of everyday life, discovering one can be frightening. Luckily, they aren’t difficult
to deal with and the local police and
any registered firearm dealer will be able to help.

The shotgun in this case, an AYA 12 gauge side-by-side, was a very nice piece, apparently. It was legally owned by the deceased meaning that the duty to ‘surrender or declare’ the weapon fell to the executor, who then had the following options: apply for a firearms licence, sell/transfer the shotgun (to a museum or collector) or destroy it.

Having taken the shotgun and ammunition to the police station, the executor explained that he wanted to retain it lawfully to sell it on behalf of the estate. Once it was established that the shotgun hadn’t been used in any crimes, it was transferred to a local registered firearms dealer. I found the Gun Trade Association very helpful.

The sale raised £1,450 (net) for the estate, so it was worth going to the effort of dealing with it properly.

We have a system at the office
where interesting information is saved and I recommend that everyone does this. I may never have to deal with
half-stuffed animal skins again, but sharing the experience means anyone else who does will hopefully find it less time consuming and more profitable.

Sofia Tayton is partner and head of care and capacity at Lodders

She writes the regular in-practice article on care and capacity for Private Client Adviser