ILLUSTRATION BY TOM IURCHENKO/GETTY IMAGES/Getty Images
Baby boomers are leaving their kids an overwhelming inheritance.
We’re not talking about the family home. We mean all the stuff crammed into it. The antiques too large to fit into a millennial apartment. The dishes no one needs. The mouldy stamp collection forgotten in the attic. A few years ago, The Globe and Mail called it the Great Junk Transfer.
For the most part, their kids are dreading the task that awaits them. In a recent survey of 2,200 Americans, Canadians and Australians, nearly half of respondents said they’d rather inherit nothing than have to sort through a relative’s possessions. And 54 per cent said being left to sort a mountain of stuff made grieving harder. The majority of parents said they want to spare their children this burden.
Whether you’re the exhausted child with all those teacups, or the advance-planning parent trying to find a home for your silver, we’d like to hear your story.
How did dealing with a pile of stuff in your parent’s house affect the way you grieved, your relationship with your siblings, your memories of your childhood? Were there meaningful discoveries you made along the way? How did you logistically get it done? And for parents, how do you feel about your possession and what should become of them?
Share your experience – and some advice – in the box below, or send us an e-mail at EAnderssen@globeandmail.com.