The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff [Paperback]

Julie Hall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2008

A practical guide to advise Baby Boomers how to deal with the daunting task of facing a parents' eventual passing as it relates to residential contents, heirlooms, and the often difficult family interactions and feuds that accompany them.

With fascinating stories and comprehensive checklists, professional estate liquidator Julie Hall walks Baby Boomers through the often painful challenge of dividing the wealth and property of their parents' lifetime accumulation of stuff. From preparation while the parent is still living through compassionately helping them empty the family home, The Estate Lady® gives invaluable tips on negotiating the inevitable disputes, avoiding exploitation from scam artists, and eventually closing the chapter of their lives in a way that preserves relationships and maximizes value of assets.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078522825X
• ISBN-13: 978-0785228257
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Law > Taxation > Estates & Trusts
  • #38 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Aging Parents
  • #48 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Parent & Adult Child

More About the Author

Julie Hall, known as The Estate Lady, is an estate expert specializing in personal property. Estate valuation, dissolution, and assisting grieving families in making the appropriate decisions during the estate settlement process are her specialties. With more than nineteen years experience, she has assisted thousands of individuals in the daunting and often painful process of managing their deceased parents' affairs. Her experience has been sought across the United States and Canada on radio, TV, and newspaper media including WSJ, Bloomberg News, MSN Money, and the LA Times.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable advice on how to manage the difficult task of passing assets from generation to generation, October 22, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff (Paperback)

I chose the perfect time to crack and read this book. My father and mother both spent significant time in the hospital last summer and they are getting up in years. The term "pack-rat" is also an understatement in describing them, they have multiple dwellings and outbuildings and all are stuffed. This book is about the delicate task of getting older parents and their baby boomer children doing everything they can to resolve property issues before it is too late for the parents to be involved. It is such a sensitive manner, because it involves the issues of facing your mortality, dealing with the thought or presence of a loss, the lifetime of memories that a baby boomer has, and the almost certain presence of multiple grandchildren.

Merely one generation ago when children generally did not drift far away from their parents, there was constant physical contact between parents and their children. In many cases, they shared the same dwelling or had separate residences on the same land. Things are different now. In the modern world, children generally set up residence some distance away and lose track of what their parent's dwellings are like. Many of the parents also lived through the depression and so keep anything that could possibly have value. Hall recounts instances of dwellings packed with newspapers, old plastic containers, empty glass jars and old magazines that have taken years to accumulate. The elderly parents are often reluctant to explain to their children exactly what their assets are and who should be the one to receive them. Finally, as is the case in every endeavor involving humans and assets, the death of a parent often brings out the base element of greed. Not only among the descendents, but often among friends and neighbors of the deceased and it can appear before death if the person is mentally deficient. All of this in combination creates a veritable mine field of danger and Hall does an excellent job in describing ways you can prevent their being laid, detect them and even defuse them when encountered.

I plan on implementing several of the suggestions put forward in this book and I strongly encourage people on both sides of the parent - boomer relationship to read this book with an open heart and open mind. Issues of life, death and inheritance are extremely difficult and the best way to handle them is early and with openness, honesty and without passion. Hall explains how to do all of these things in order for you to do the best you possibly can in a bad but unavoidable situation.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must-Read" For Every Boomer!, June 2, 2008

By 

Jennifer T. Szakaly "Geriatric Care Manager" (Charlotte Metro area, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff (Paperback)

This is a phenomenal, poignant, and thorough examination into a subject area that is often overlooked. If every Boomer and their parent read this book, we'd have fewer family crises, fewer disputes to be settled by attorneys, and far less heartbreak after a parent's death. After you read it, you'll want to share it with everyone you know - regardless of their age!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it in multiples!, July 6, 2008

By 

A. Maxfield - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff (Paperback)

This is a great handbook for anyone dealing with aging parents, and for caring parents who want their children to know their wishes. If you do half of what Julie suggests, you will make your own life easier, your siblings and parents life easier. The book has great practical advice and it's written by someone who cares deeply about her subject. I've reccomended it to at least 5 people.