Sorry for you loss.
Whatever you decide to do, be sure the widow will fight you for the collection, and has a very good chance at winning in court. And let’s say you take the chance, prove it was his will and dying wish to leave the collection to you, she still owes 50% of it (in most instances), because when someone purchases assets while married without a prenup of some sort, all bought things are 50-50 in ownership. So at the very least, you’ll lose 100k.
If her plan will most likely be to sell them and take the money, maybe the best thing to do is to stay quite and enjoy the collection and wear it to honor your late friend. If she needs the money dearly and you want a clear conscious, give it to her, but accept that it will most likely go to a seller for a low price, and it might stir up some trouble with the widow as she’ll become aware that her late husband had a secret watch collection hidden from her.
Sorry for you loss. Whatever you decide to do, be sure the widow will fight you for the collection, and has a very good chance at winning in court. And let’s say you take the chance, prove it was his will and dying wish to leave the collection to you, she still owes 50% of it (in most instances), because when someone purchases assets while married without a prenup of some sort, all bought things are 50-50 in ownership. So at the very least, you’ll lose 100k. If her plan will most likely be to sell them and take the money, maybe the best thing to do is to stay quite and enjoy the collection and wear it to honor your late friend. If she needs the money dearly and you want a clear conscious, give it to her, but accept that it will most likely go to a seller for a low price, and it might stir up some trouble with the widow as she’ll become aware that her late husband had a secret watch collection hidden from her.