Death Wish
          
               Not all great auction buys are offered by government
          agencies.  You may find bargains at estate sales, too.
               What's an estate sale?  When someone dies, he or she
          leaves an estate composed of all his or her possessions. 
          These often include a home, investment property, a car,
          collections, clothing, jewelry, furniture, and more.
               Sometimes estates are simple to process:  A husband
          dies and leaves everything to the wife, who simply keeps
          it all.  But that's not always the case.  A wife,
          perhaps, has no desire to hold on to the gun collection
          or the fishing tackle that she inherits.  She can give
          away the unwanted goods, but she probably prefers to have
          cash.
               Sometimes estates aren't at all simple to
          administer.  If a widow dies and leaves her property to
          her three children, who gets the car,who gets the antique
          furniture, and who gets the Rolex?  If these items are
          converted into cash, the division is a lot simpler.
               Suppose a business owner dies, leaving his company,
          his real estate, and a large variety of "personal
          property," which includes just about everything else. 
          The executor is required to value the total estate for
          tax purposes.  If the total comes to $3 million or more
          (not unreasonable for a successful business owner), the
          total tax bill could top $1 million.  How will that money
          be raised?  By selling off the family business?  Not
          likely.  In most cases, the real estate and the personal
          property will have to be sold, generally within nine
          months.
               Therefore, you can see how many estates, from the
          smallest to the largest,need to raise cash.  In many
          cases, the survivors are neither willing nor able to sell
          the items themselves, piece by piece, so they turn the
          property over to auction, where you can often find
          quality goods at excellent prices.
               To find estate sales, check your newspapers.  If you
          have developed relationships with local auctioneers,
          you'll probably hear from them when estates come on the
          block.
               In major cities such as New York, some auctioneers
          regularly advertise estate sales.  Sometimes fine works
          of art, such as a Hepplewhite side chair or Dresden
          covered urns, can be purchased at good prices.  At such
          auctions, the entire day before the sale may be set aside
          for inspecting the merchandise.