Parents should know: Your kids may not want your stuff

Estate appraiser Julie Hall advises downsizing clients not to take it personally when their adult kids don’t want their furniture and other possessions. But when Hall asked her 23-year-old daughter what she might want from the four-bedroom family home, the younger woman mentioned just three items.

“And I said, ‘Out of this whole house? Honey, we have nice things!’ ” said Hall, author of several books, including “How to Clean Out Your Parents’ Estate in 30 Days or Less.” “I started to sound like my clients.”

Ultimately, though, as she was preparing the Charlotte, N.C., home for eventual sale, Hall said she’s grateful for her daughter’s honesty.

An avalanche of stuff: Baby boomers are poised to pass trillions of dollars to their heirs in coming decades. The inheritance many people face is quite different: an avalanche of unwanted china, unfashionable furniture and memorabilia that reflects someone else’s memories.

Younger people typically don’t have the time or the inclination to polish silver, hand-wash china or iron linens. They often don’t want heavy, dark wood furniture — and neither do buyers, apparently, as values for old furniture have plunged.

Your stuff isn’t worth as much as you think: Appraiser Elizabeth Stewart of Santa Barbara, Calif., appraised a “beautiful” 18th-century highboy, or double chest of drawers, and had to break some bad news to its owners.

“It was an incredible piece. Twenty years ago that thing would have been worth $8,000,” said Stewart, author of “No Thanks Mom: The Top Ten Objects Your Kids Do NOT Want (And What to Do With Them).” “I don’t think you’re getting $800 for it today, because the market has changed.”

Regular, mass-produced furniture is typically worth much less than that, Hall says. Also unloved: large pieces such as armoires and cabinets that would be out of place in modern, more minimalist homes.

Ask your kids what they want: Of course, there probably is a hutch-loving millennial out there, as well as adult children who would be happy to receive porcelain figurines, a souvenir spoon collection or photo albums full of people they don’t know. Parents should ask what their kids want, Hall says, but it’s important to listen to their answers. “No means no,” Hall said.

People who have items their kids don’t want can check with extended family members before deciding whether to sell or donate — assuming a charity will want them.