What to Do with Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want: From-the-Heart Estate Planning for Everyone, Whatever Your Financial Situation

by Marni Jameson

A book to encourage, inspire, and guide you through turning your material assets into a meaningful legacy

Getting your affairs in order doesn’t sound like fun . . . but with bestselling author Marni Jameson as your guide, you might be surprised. In helping readers leave behind a blessing rather than a burden, Jameson focuses on what’s important: taking care of loved ones and causes dear to you—and making a thoughtful plan instead of a mess. Whether you are in the prime of life or your later years; are single or married; have kids or not; are well-off or just getting by, What to Do with Everything can help you:
Identify what kind of legacy you want to leave
Understand wills, trusts, and other agreements
Head off potential family conflict
Decide which possessions to donate, sell, or auction.
As Jameson helps you shape your legacy, you’ll enjoy peace of mind, comfort, and even a few laughs. And you’ll rest assured: It’s not so much what you leave but how you leave it that matters.

Genres: Nonfiction, Personal Development, Finance, Audiobook

272 pages, Paperback

Published June 22, 2021

Reviews

[Yaaresse]

TLDR: It's OK. I found In Case You Get Hit by a Bus more relevant for my situation because I was looking for "how" than "what" or "why." If you've done zilch about making your will and final arrangements, then it's not a bad book with which to start, especially if you have kids.
_
Long version:
This book seems to be more for people who are upper-middle income or above and have blended families...or are emotionally attached to stuff. A lot of stuff. The subtitle of "whatever your financial situation" is misleading because I don't think she gives a single example in the book of anyone whose household is under six figures. So it's really "whatever your very comfortable or affluent financial situation."

The book makes some good points, though. She does go into deciphering some legalese and championing the idea of leaving a percentage of one's assets to charities or non-profits, and she's careful to point out this needs to be carefully thought out so the giver isn't leaving their pet cause more headache than bequest.

In my opinion, the very best thing in this book is that she comes right out and says that what you think your stuff is worth is almost certainly not what it is worth, and she hammers home that the cash value of something is neither what the owner paid for it nor what it appraises for. The cold, hard truth is that the value of most people's stuff -- and I mean the entire contents of a house -- are worth FAR less than we think. The author gives a cash value of between $3000-10,000 for the average household. That is what you might be able to get cash-in-hand if you had to sell it all. Sounds about right.

Now, I knew this because I had one family member who was in the business of buying estates and selling the "junque" second-hand and another relative who was an auctioneer. Also, I've helped clean out a couple of houses full of a lifetime's accumulation of "collectibles," so-called antiques, things they had inherited unwillingly, and just general everyday stuff. And I've also been in the position of having to inventory and help clean out a couple of houses after occupants died. if you haven't had to crawl through a relative's house making an inventory of everything and taking pictures of a hundred creepy "antique" dolls or those hideous collectible plates with the big-eyed kids on them, you just don't know what you're missing. (Someone really needs to invent a sarcasm font.)

So this leads me to the second best point of the book: With only a few exceptions, your family and friends do not want 95% (or more) of your treasures stuff. So why put them through the work of having to go through it all when you're gone? If your attic, basement, garage and (rented!) storage units are full of stuff you no longer use, enjoy, or maybe even remember your own, what on earth makes you think someone else wants it after your demise?

They. Don't. Want. It. Not your cookie jar collection, not your seventeen boxes of age-deteriorated vacation photos that have no information on them, not the doll-turned-into-a lamp, not the 17 neon-colored granny square afghans you made in the 1980s, not the fridge magnets from every national park you visited. And? Not the "good" tools they have no idea how to use. Not the costume jewelry. Not even the set of wedding china you have never used and think is beautiful. Certainly not the mismatched, lids-missing Tupperware. Definitely not your old prom dresses or old scuba gear. Not even for sentimental value do your nearest and dearest want your old crap. Even if it is expensive crap. They don't want it. Not even your broke-ass kids want this stuff. Especially not your kids.

So, take a minute to let that reality settle. Now, the best thing you can do is Have The Conversation, the one where you ask, "Should something happen to me, is there something specific you would like me to leave you?" And if they say, "only X or Y" or "Thanks, but nothing," then take them at their word. Put the details of the (probably) two or three things they name in your will -- or, even better, go ahead and gift it to them if you aren't still using it -- and let the rest of that clutter go. Don't make others have to clean up your mess.

I should talk...eyeballing closet that needs to be cleaned out.

[Holly]

Between 3.5 and 4 stars. Has some excellent advice about end of life planning, even if it seems geared more toward those with wealth. Everyone dies. Whether you are materially wealthy or not, this book has some good advice.

[Jess Haas]

This book might be helpful for blended/divorces families. In general it’s a lot of terrible anecdotes and not very much helpful advice.
Here is the book:
You should set up a trust. A will is great but won’t avoid probate. Get rid of most of your stuff before you die(it’s not worth much anyways). Clearly communicate who gets what. Leave some of your assets to charity.
You’re welcome.

[Heather]

This is really great information for young or youngish people to know. Not looking forward to putting this information to use, but it is helpful and necessary.

[Jbussen]

I never really thought about it but, not what do you do with collectors' items, but how would you get top value? Financially? Emotionally? Very different.
And I know I want to do a Ben Franklin. Upon his death, Benjamin Franklin bequeathed $2,000 each to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia. However, he stipulated that the cities could not draw the balance for 200 years. In 1990, the combined worth of the funds was $6.5 million.
I want to put some money in a mutual fund and every time that fund (adjusted for inflation) doubles, I want to donate 45% (so it grows steadily) to some charity.
This book gave me enough to think about. I'm not going to die soon (probably) but I don't want my hard-earned lifetime of work to go to random shit.
I have seen many (in Hawaii so Hawaiians) families get torn apart over assets. It pays to plan ahead. And this book is a damn fine start to things you may not have thought of and how to go about it.

[Nicole]

This is a very good book to get you into the mindset of planning for the future and the end. No one likes to talk about this stuff, but it is important for remaining family and friends to understand what you want. While not an overly technical book on how to do the process, it walks you through the steps you need to do before going to a professional and the different options they can do for you. And while mentioning the noble aspiration of giving back to the community in some way, I felt that the book oversold this to the point that 75% of the book is about donating a small % of your wealth in your plan.

[Frank Isaacs]

Excellent, easy read on what can be a difficult topic. Accessible and detailed, without being long and dry. The author has a reasonably strong and frequently-mentioned opinion regarding leaving a charitable legacy. It’s food for thought even if it may not be the strategy for everyone, and doesn’t detract from the many additional ideas, recommendations, and real-world examples.

[jimtown]

The intro is really good, funny. Not easy to keep up the humorous overtones with a subject like this though and so the rest is what you might expect. Despite plenty of really good information in here, the author really pushed leaving something to charity. I highlighted quite a few passages for future use, but there's a lot I skipped over too because it wasn't pertinent to me.

[Alexandria]

3.5 ⭐ not what I expected- many anecdotes, which I was not expecting. I feel like I need so much more information and this barely covered the basics and doesn't answer any of the questions I had going into it. my fault that I grabbed the wrong book. seems to have some useful tools like a glossary and asset checklist.

[Kate]

5! This is both a how to deal with your belongings before you die, but also a plea for including charitable giving in your estate plan. Very no-nonsense about value (it probably isn’t worth what you paid for it so hanging onto it doesn’t make sense). Loved the funny, conversational style.

[Ken]

It's pretty heavy on the getting rid of your stuff part, and pretty light on the actual estate planning part (which I suppose is as implied by the title and subtitle). Long in comparison to the amount of actual information contained, in part due to numerous anecdotes.

[Margarita Bastar]

I didn’t think a book like this would be an enjoyable read but the stories were interesting and it’s a useful tool. Glad I stumbled across it in the library.

[Janelle]

3.5 stars - the process of estate planning is so daunting when starting out, and this is a great easy overview to start with.

[Ruth]

A very readable, entry-level primer to the topic. However, as another reviewer noted, if you really want in depth how-to guide, look elsewhere.

[Tigressp81]

Useful, quick read. Nothing unexpected here, no surprising insights, but useful lists of things to keep track of.

[Mathieu]

A good overview of estate planning.

[Steph]

Make a will. Set up a trust. Downsize. Donate to charity. Done.

[Cheryl Meibos]

I thought this book would be more of how to get rid of physical things, but it was more about the financial and estate planning. It did motivate me to get my medical directive form filled out and filed.

[Carolynn]

I have been looking for a book like this and I am glad I finally found it. Not all of us are in a situation where we have children or other heirs that we want to leave our estate to. This book gives many suggestions as to charitable ways to leave money to organizations or causes that you care about. The checklists that are included are very helpful for getting everything ready before you visit a lawyer to make out your will and other estate paperwork.

Thank you for writing this book! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Beth Livingston]

I would like to thank The Experiment and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. We don't like talking about death or planning for it. This book helps you to navigate the world that many of us are uncomfortable with. Marni Jameson did a wonderful job in writing. She broke down legal terms so they were easy to understand. I feel like everyone should read this book. I'm giving What to Do with Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want a 4 out of 5 stars. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Claudia]

We're all going to die so the best gift we can give those who will settle our estate is to be proactive in having a plan. And everyone has an estate, no matter the size. There will always be people who have to take care of what we leave behind: where we lived, our stuff, pets, unpaid bills, finances, etc. Without a will or trust when you die, the state will decide on what happens to what you leave behind, and it likely will take much longer to settle and won't be what you wanted to happen. Excellent book for everyone!

[Lisa Stevens]

"Get rid of the past so you can live in the present and plan for the future." Great book to use as a guide to live your life - the importance of planning, the realities of what consumerism has left us to deal with as we age with parents who have passed on, and the peace of mind this creates. Very much worth the read.

[Rachelle]

What to do with Everything you Own... resourceful guide to inheritances, gifting future generations, establishing trusts and avoiding taxes on estates. Full of descriptive examples and years of knowledge. Some of the stories were very dramatic and veered off topic.

[Margie Peterson]

The book title tells it all. This guide helps you tackle the mental as well as the logistical hurdles of getting this stuff done. We found my father-in-law's most recent will in a basement file cabinet 6 months after he died. Write it down and press send!

[Holly Senecal]

Great workbook/guideline. Appreciated that it was easy to understand but thorough. Makes an uncomfortable subject much easier to deal with.

[Katra]

Probably a lot better for people who actually have money.

[Laurie]

I picked this up from the new nonfiction display at the library. It was a quick read, interesting, and will be helpful as I plan to redo my will (as my child will be 18 soon) in 2022.

[Crystal]

Wonderful book that does exactly what it says it will do, from a perspective that feels empowering and not terrifying. I will read again and take steps!

[Renata Shura]

There’s a lot of very useful information in this book was supposed some thoughtful questions that really make you think. Definitely a resource to come back to.

[Julie]

Handy, light-hearted gem of a book, filled with tips, ideas and advice.