Members are needed to assist heirs of APS members who passed away within the previous year. Volunteers should be comfortable with offering advice to the heirs on how to maintain, store or dispose of the philatelic collection that has been left behind.  This is a free service provided to heirs of APS members and volunteers receive no compensation for their time or travel costs.  Volunteers are also expected not to make any offer to purchase a collection on which they offer advice as this would pose a clear conflict of interest.

Rarely will a volunteer be asked to help more than once a year as we currently have over 100 volunteers and average less than 50 requests a year.  However, our goal is to provide three names of members who are within a reasonable distance from the collection or heir and there are many areas of the country where we have no estate advisor volunteer within 50 or even 100 miles.

An estate advisor may turn down requests. This could be because of a timing conflict, poor match of knowledge with a specialized collection, or other concerns such as COVID. Heirs should not expect assistance with collectibles beyond stamps and covers. Volunteers are asked to provide phone numbers and e-mail addresses for contact which are only shared with an heir when they appear to be one of the best three candidates to serve as the volunteer estate advisor.

If you would be interested in serving the hobby in this capacity or would like additional information please contact Ken Martin, kpmartin@stamps.org, 814-933-3817.