As a matter of fact I do wear my great grandfathers 6.3 karat ruby ring and his silver Bulova watch, both handed down to my father and then myself, and someday I'll pass it to my children. I don't see how someone could replace a memory with cash, unless they are destitute and need to put food on the table. Guy
The question of what heir will do is definitely an important one, and I think it really depends on who your heir is and it is different on a case by case basis. I'm 21, and I'll share some of my own examples and other "heirs" I've come across: 1. My grandfather handed down to me 2 coins and 1 banknote that he had held on to from a long-ago collection of Imperial Russian currency he had put together back in the Soviet Union but could not take with him when he migrated. I kept them and added so much more to it to turn it into a collection much larger than anything he had (or could even possibly acquire) in his time, and would never think of selling off any one of the original pieces I got from my gpa, and would hate if my future kids were to sell mine off in the future. 2. I came in contact with a seller who was charged with selling off her uncle's coin collection when he passed away. She did not care to learn about the coins, did not care much for the prices, and decided to sell them off very cheaply under disgustingly vague auction titles on eBay like "Russian Coins." Does she deserve to get fair market value? I can tell you I saw those lots get bought up left and right for about 20% of their real worth. 3. A friend of mine noticed my binder (my collection) and started flipping through it. When he finally asked randomly what a certain coin in there was worth and I answered "$100" his immediate response was "Wow, are you serious? I'd totally sell that if my grandfather gave me something like that, what am I gonna do with some coin lying on my desk if I'm not into this stuff." So I think it's important to think carefully about who you leave your collection with when you're on your way out of this life... I'm not criticizing anyone's kids here by any means, but as a younger collector looking at the older generation of collectors, you guys need to think about your heirs in a more critical way, because some of them will sell off your collection for cash, or a new motorcycle, or trade it in for a new Xbox, or go party in Vegas using that money. Keep it in mind. Doesn't make them bad people, but think about your initial impulse response if you found out someone in your family just passed down to you a huge, expensive collection of vintage oil cans. Personally, I wouldn't care for them and would sell them. For others, though, there's a huge collecting community for oil cans (no joke). It's a tough issue, there's no easy answer.
I just use Microsoft Word Processor. Its a lot typing but I can put whatever I want in it and modify it however I like and its compatible with everything. Its looks really good actually.