THE BOOMER BURDEN
Dealing With Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff
Julie Hall
Thomas Nelson
2007
ISBN: 978-0-7852-2825-7
Aging, Family, Relationships
Each member of every family should have a copy of this book.
Applying the concepts and suggestions throughout it will help prevent a lot of heartaches, misunderstandings, possible theft, and family squabbles.
Although many in the modern generation seem to be of the 'throw away' mindset, some of them—and even the older generation—have a tendency to hoard things.
Why should we get rid of them? How do we do it? How do we know what to get rid of and what to keep?
This book is an invaluable resource to answer just those questions (and many more, of course) related to dealing with your parents' accumulation of stuff over their lifetime.
Known as The Estate Lady®, Julie Hall presents her information in a straight-forward, serious, but entertaining manner. She brings to light information that many of us don't want to think about, or have never really known about before.
For example, are you familiar with (or are you even one of) the seven types of relatives who, interestingly enough, appear when someone dies?
1. The loving relative
2. The well-meaning relative
3. The estranged relative
4. The uninformed relative
5. The guilty relative
6. The unappreciative relative
7. The greedy relative
Any of these ring a bell?
Ms Hall also delves into deciding what is worth keeping or selling, and what to give or throw away; how to intelligently handle the terms of the Will; how to clean out your parents' estate; how to deal with scammers, schemers and scoundrels; and how to ensure that your own children won't have to deal with the mess that can happen if things are not taken care of beforehand.
In the appendices are some helpful resources, including a complete parent care checklist; a list of important documents and information that you will need to locate; and a sample wish list spreadsheet.
I attended my first funerals (two of them within two weeks of each other) when I was fifty years old. If I had this book back then, it would have made everything a lot simpler to understand. It doesn't handle the grief; but it does make the aftermath that much easier to cope with.
In spite of its subject matter, this is not a depressing book. Rather, it offers hope, peace of mind, and information for all of us; for we all, at one time or another, will be faced with death, either our own, or that of a loved one.
As the book cover states: "The Boomer Burden gives you practical, effective steps for liquidating and distributing your parents' assets in a way that both honors them and promotes family harmony for generations to come."
Do yourself a tremendous favor-buy this book, read it, apply it.
You'll be glad you did.
(Book Review by Michael Woodhead, 2008)
