Anonymous wrote:Estate attorney here. I do both estates planning and estates settlements. It is heartless, selfish and cruel to expect people to give away their stuff at old age, just to make it easier for the next generation to clean up. Let them live among their "treasures". Emotionally it will be way easier for you to throw out the stuff once they have to move to assisted living or pass away, then for them to throw it out and live in a bare house/apartment.
You don't give away your stuff at the old age to make it easier for the next generation to clean up. You give away your stuff and make your house in order to come to terms with your own mortality. It's both a physical and mental cleanup before you pass on. There is nothing heartless, cruel or selfish for the young not to want to deal with your mess, because if you leave a mess, it is both physical and mental. We're not immortal.