Well shit, if you wanna donate them to help kids in the hood so they can stop doing crime I know a nonprofit.

He died intestate. I’d argue by giving you possession and control of the collection, and telling you not to tell his wife, he made a de facto gift to you. There is a case that lawfully, you are under no obligation to divest yourself of the watches, nor tell his wife. But I’d recommend consulting a wills and trusts attorney.

Ignore those on here telling you what the legal requirements are on this. They don’t even know what State he died in, which is crucial to know.

The lawful and ethical thing to do is tell his wife.

But I’d consider the timing. If she finds out about this after an unexpected loss that could either make her feel even worse that she make him live hiding things he loved/enjoyed from her. Or she might be pissed and wonder what else he hid from her. Probably some of both.

Maybe wait until she has some time to accept the loss before telling her this. Just a thought… you know her personality and can make a better decision about this. But they are hers and need to be given to her, I’d say, within 6-9 months if not right away.

buu… buttttt lEgAlLy

Jesus, I’ve never seen a bigger group panzies in my life. I thought considering the way everyone here throws a fit over differing opinions and branding that some of you would have a backbone but daaaamn, not one single person that isn’t a giant vagina in this entire thread???

If he can afford $200k in watchs then I’m sure his family should be fine. Just enjoy your memento from your friend.

I think the lawful and ethical thing to do is to break the promise and tell his wife but I’m not sure since he made me promise not to tell her.

Depends on where you are, the will and so on. It will form part of the estate and trying to keep and hide them could result being in a small space with big hairy men.

Can I get one?

Its not like what the wife will do is ethical anyways. Your dad entrusted you with it… just saying.

I’m sorry if this is crass but are we sure she didn’t kill him

I’m really sorry for your loss.

I think that, to keep yourself safe from any kind of lawsuit or legal trouble, the best option is to get the advice of a lawyer who’s specialized in this area (inheritance and all of that).

So… no picture of the collection? And just curious, when did he get to enjoy wearing the watches if he lived with his wife?

If you tell her. You’re an idiot and breaking a promise. If you want to fuck her just say so.

I think your partner allowed or shared his collection with you because he knew you’d appreciate the value and sincerity

I think selling the collection is contradictory to what he wanted assuming what you’ve shared is true

He wanted someone to have and appreciate the collection

I dont know if your friends passing was planned or just sudden.

if there is no legal reliabilities … I would consider liquidating them and claim the husband left money/cash in the company safe or something and just give the wife the money without the secret (watches) …

I think the other comments have established pretty clearly that they belong to your friend’s wife. One small thing from personal experience- are you sure they’re genuine? My FIL passed away, and there was a secret watch collection nobody knew about. Turned out a lot of them were replicas, although not all. It meant the financial consideration was pretty small compared to what we’d expected at first.