Every week, JoAnn Fleming hosts Flash Talks Cash, a radio show on the Heritage Radio Network in which she discusses personal and small business money issues. The show examines current topics from the financial/tax world and the ways they impact your wallet.

The following story was submitted by a listener named Jamie Matos and was part of a show called Getting Paid What You Are Worth.

THE BOOK KEEPER
by Jamie Matos

A keeper of family traditions has quite a collection of novels. In fact, novels have been the choice item which generation after generation of his family has chosen to collect. He had collected so many novels, he recently lost count. Illness fell upon the fellow and he passed away, leaving his home (which had remained in his family for three generations) and all its contents to a distant cousin who is the writer of romance novels. Every room in the two-story home was filled with books from floor to ceiling. The writer planned to sell the home but knew it had to be cleaned out before it could be sold. He knew the job would be less cumbersome with help from friends and family but unfortunately help was not offered. He spent two months cleaning out the home and sold the oldest books from the collection for large sums of money. He also fell in love with the owner of the used bookstore he had been visiting. He wondered if the highly collectible and valuable books were included in the inheritance tax and if he was obligated to notify his accountant of his find. Thankfully, at least he had inspiration for his next romance novel!