Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

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.

Average Customer Rating:

Practical and valuable information for facing a life crisis

Customer Rating:

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

Customer Rating:

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!

A gift of love between generations ...

Customer Rating:

Some things we just can't put on the back shelf, but before we all die we somehow manage to fill shelves . . . tons of them. Have you noticed, as a Baby Boomer, the sheer amount of clutter and junk in your parent's home? Your own? Chances are you don't have anything that would make an appraiser shout for joy on Antique Roadshow, but the local junk dealer might be happy as a clam to get some of it. In the event your parents become unable to live in their home due to disability or pass away you might just be taking a much closer look than you planned on. According to Julie Hall, author of the fabulous book, The Boomer Burden: DEALING WITH YOUR PARENTS' LIFETIME ACCUMULATION OF STUFF, you're going to be hit by a "flying brick." It isn't going to be a pretty sight. When we Boomers were in our twenties, we all felt we were invincible. Nah, we're all going to live forever and nothing will happen to mom and dad. Think again. As Hall bluntly states, "even Lipitor won't keep your parents alive forever." The resulting estate, however palatial or humble . . . well, you gotta deal with it, like it or not. Known as "The Estate Lady," Julie has a great deal of experience and claims she can help the reader "clear out your parents' estate in seven to ten days." Sage advice includes dealing with the appointment of a legal representative, division of the estate, identity and appraisal of potential valuable items, how to minimize sibling rivalry, how to deal with those little skeletons in the closet, vultures and much more. The Boomers, now finding themselves sandwiched between caring for aging parents and their own children and grandchildren can use all the help they can get in times of crisis! I was amazed by the originality, depth and usefulness of this book. I was literally burning the midnight oil trying to get to the end of this book. The topic and usefulness span generations and is a marvelous resource for not only the Boomer, but also an excellent preparation guide for the parent who wishes to ease the clutter conundrum for their children. This book can be a gift of love between generations and should not be overlooked. Deb Fowler (Roundtable Reviews)

Cleaning House	Customer Rating:
Looks like a good book with lots of helpful information in dealing with the daunting task of cleaning out your parents house. I'm sure we will get some good use out of this book.

Should be required reading for anyone over 35...

Customer Rating:

I'm at that age where sometime in the foreseeable future, I'm going to have to deal with the passing of one or more parents in our family. In addition to the grieving process, there's something that often doesn't get discussed until it's too late... what do you do with all the "stuff" your parents have accumulated over their lifetime? Julie Hall has made a career of working through that process with people, and she's written a book called The Boomer Burden: Dealing with Your Parents' Lifetime Accumulation of Stuff. Even though it may not be a subject you want to think about, time spent reading The Boomer Burden now can lead to infinitely fewer headaches and fractured relationships when that time comes. And if you're the parent, reading and acting on the information here is one of the best gifts you can give to your children. Contents: Introduction: Leaving Behind More Than Memories First Signs Planning for the Inevitable Where's the Will? When Reality Sinks In The Hearse Doesn't Have a Trailer Hitch Relatively Speaking Scammers, Schemers, and Other Scoundrels The Nitty-Gritty of Dividing Your Parents' Estate But What Is It Really Worth? Where Do I Begin? How to Clean Out Your Parents' Estate Right, Wrong, and In Between I Will Never Do This to My Kids! Be Good to Yourself Mission Accomplished! Appendix A: Your Complete Parent Care Checklist Appendix B: Helpful Resources Appendix C: Documents and Information to Locate Appendix D: Sample Wish List Spreadsheet Notes About the Author Hall has a business called The Estate Lady, and she brings 17 years of experience to this often ignored (but inevitable) part of life. She documents in painful detail how normal families can turn into dishonest, contentious enemies over the process of clearing out and dividing up the contents of the parents' estate. It's also quite normal for "friends" to want to help out with the process, but those friends often help themselves to items when no one is looking. Add antique dealers and consignment agents on top of that, and valuable keepsakes can wander out the door for pennies on the dollar, often before you even know what happened. Hall has a process which helps you make difficult decisions beforehand (when emotions aren't running high), as well as steps to follow which makes the process of emptying the house something which doesn't have to be completely overwhelming. She also counsels parents to take the time beforehand to make a will, record where all the important papers are, and to list out any items of value and who they would want them to go to when they die. These simple acts can make all the difference in the world to the survivors who have to sort it all out. It's tempting to think that your family will be one of the 20% (yes, it's that low) that smoothly handles this unfortunate event. Odds are, you won't be. While I'm not in the position of having Depression-era parents who saved EVERYTHING, there's still "stuff" that will have to be handled when that time comes for me. Based on the information in this book, I know I'll be in a much better position to do the right things than I would have been without it. I would recommend this book be standard reading material for anyone over the age of 35. Trust me, you'll need it at some point...