The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff | 
 enlarge | Author: Julie Hall
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
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Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 15621
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 078522825X
Dewey Decimal Number: 646.78
EAN: 9780785228257
ASIN: 078522825X
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
What a fabulous book!! December 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
For those who are lost in this area, and looking for a great no-nonsense guide for how to proceed, You have found your guide!! The information is wonderful, and laid out in such an easy to follow format. This book is a must have for anyone who faces the estate sale dilema.
Organize your estate now so everyone can R.I.P. December 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Author Julie Hall (a.k.a. The Estate Lady) promises, "This book will provide you with the trustworthy counsel you need when facing the monumental task of walking your parents through their final days and then settling their estate." She keeps that promise in fifteen chapters that deal with things like:
- how to tell your parents are failing,
- the importance of a will,
- what an executor is and does,
- how to protect the estate from grasping neighbors, friends and relatives,
- how to ascertain the value of estate items,
- how to clean out your parents' house, and more.
Important points covered in each section are repeated within the chapter as lists, definitions, and words of advice in sidebar-type boxes. Each chapter concludes with "What Can I Do Now?" - a checklist of three pertinent actions for the reader to perform at that particular juncture of the process.
The book ends with three appendices:
- a checklist for parent care,
- a list of helpful resources, and a list of estate documents,
- information that children should locate and keep accessible.
Though the subject matter makes this a hard book to read, Hall's sympathetic tone and reasoned approach helps the reader quell naturally arising angst in favor of paying attention to what needs to be done. Her wealth of stories and anecdotes keeps the book interesting. If the story of neighbors who cleaned out the valuables of a senile lady's house, paying her mere dollars when the pieces were worth hundreds, doesn't outrage you, some of the stories of family treachery will.
Hall's real goal is to move the reader beyond outrage to action. If you are a boomer with aging parents, this book will motivate and guide you. It will show you how to set things up now while your parents are still alive so the estate isn't a nightmare to settle later when there is no will, no knowledge of where important papers are kept, and no list of who gets what. (However, if your parents have died intestate -- without a will -- it walks you through that scenario as well.) If you are a boomer or a boomer's parent, this book was written to motivate you to look after your stuff yourself and not leave it to your kids.
If you're a boomer with failing parents, get this book. As someone who was executor of my mother's estate two years ago, I can vouch for how bang-on its advice is. I only wish I had had it then.
If you're a boomer or younger, get this book in any case, not for your parents' estate but for your own. Follow its advice and leave your children one of the best gifts you can give them - a straightforward and well-administered estate.
 Handy Guide for Bereavement Management December 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Dealing with the death of a parent can be very difficult. Emotions run high and feelings are in a state of volatility and turmoil. If this wasn't enough, there is also the problem of dividing up the deceased person's estate and this problem is compounded further when there is no will; no official document that says exactly how to distribute assets. Add to that the problem an adult child experiences when emptying out a parent's home that is overloaded with things, and you have all the ingredients for a highly stressful situation.
This is where The Boomer Burden can help. Written by a woman with plenty of experience with estates, wills, and other related issues, this book is intended to serve as a guide to adult children who want to do the right thing, honor their parents, and get through the ordeal with as few hard feelings as possible. The book begins with the topic of wills and it drills into the reader's head just how important it is to have a will- not just for parents who are nearing the end of the line, but also for themselves. Without a will, a court will decide how to divide up the assets of an estate and, more often than not, the division of property will be unacceptable to the children and will probably not coincide with the desires of the parents. This is why it is so important to have a will, and the author stresses and then re- stresses this point over and over as you read.
After the issue of wills has been emphasized to excess, The Boomer Burden then brings up some other important issues that many may relate to. One is the problem associated with older parents who are still alive but are too sick to care for themselves and need to enter an assisted living facility. Many seniors will stubbornly refuse to leave their homes for a multitude of reasons; some valid, and others bogus. The Boomer Burden offers some tips on ways to convince reluctant parents that they would be better off if there was someone around the clock to help them. The book also offers some alternatives that might be more acceptable to certain people, like having a nurse check in periodically throughout the week, at the senior citizen's own residence. The book also offers some tips on ways to convince older parents to start the cleanup process by eliminating the accumulation of things they have held onto over the years- particularly those things that have little value.
What to do with so much stuff is another important component of this book. As The Boomer Burden points out, there are likely to be some surprises along the way when adult children walk through a deceased parent's house and start to open boxes, check cupboards, open drawers, etc. Many children are shocked at the large accumulation of stuff stored in attics, garages, basements, cupboards, and other places. Bread bags, cool whip containers, old newspapers, and old magazines are among the many discoveries just waiting to be found and the decision on what to do often comes down to either making a charitable donation or renting a large dumpster to discard the old magazines, papers, etc. Always check through things first- there could possibly be a collectable among that garbage. An old newspaper from an ordinary day of the week is worth nothing, but a newspaper with an important world news headline story could be worth some big bucks, so check before you toss.
The Boomer Burden is geared toward baby boomers whose parents are nearing their final days and it was written to address some of the issues common to senior citizens of this generation. Parents of baby boomers grew up during difficult times and this is part of the reason why they have a greater tendency to hoard things. Their generation is often very frugal and believes you shouldn't throw away anything that might have some use in the future. This is why it is so common to find certain items in such abundance in the homes of individuals of this generation.
The Boomer Burden is written in a practical style, but with a friendly and helpful tone. The author wants everyone to be prepared and wants to minimize family trauma. She also realizes that there is plenty of work to be done both before and after the passing of a parent, so she wastes no time rolling up her sleeves and telling you, the reader, what needs to be done each step of the way. The author is friendly, but firm. Wills need to be completed, houses need to be cleaned, and other important decisions have to be made. There is little time to procrastinate, and this highly useful guide offers estate advice that, while not necessarily something we like to think about, is practical and sensible. Following its many words of wisdom will not only save you loads of garbage, it will also save you loads of grief during this especially difficult time.
Practical and valuable information for facing a life crisis November 19, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this book because the advice given applies to my specific situation, a baby boomer getting close to having to deal with end-of-life issues for my parents. The author bases her suggestions and advice on experience and has good credibility. The information is not only useful for dealing with parents, but preparing for my own end-of-life situation as well. There are many hard truths in the book that many of us fail to face up to, but need to in a responsible way. I'm buying more copies of this book for a sibling and for my estate executor. It's a very practical book with excellent advice. It's easy to read.
The Book for Executors - Quick Read - Great Ideas November 18, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The author did an excellent job in detailing the process of cleaning up your parents house, dividing the stuff and liquidating the estate. She was in-depth, followed through with details, experiences and multiple options. Really a great book for trying to tackle estate division with ease. I only wished I read the book prior to my parents slowing down. Once they are gone you cannot asked them any questions -- like "who's in the picture". The author has great tips on supporting your parents during the later years, knowing when your parents need more help than you can offer and easing the burden of their wonderful lifetime of memories. The lawyers get to handle the formal legal notifications but this book is really for the executors who have to clear up the STUFF. A great buy!
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