Intergenerational Conversations About Care and Assets That One Family Did Not Have Until Too Late

Older relatives fall gravely ill. Their wishes regarding their care and assets are unclear. Siblings converge, huddle, bicker, then go to war with one another. Money goes to lawyers that could have gone to heirs, and fissures form that never heal.

Amanda Brown's film, “Black Heirlooms,” is a personal and cultural examination about the extended uncomfortable, intergenerational conversations that we do not have enough of and that her family did not have until it was too late.

Many adult siblings are having a difficult time as they face their parents’ aging and related deci­sions regarding caregiving, healthcare, property distribution, estate planning, and more.

When you and your family face decisions related to aging loved ones, it can be difficult to com­municate and make decisions together given the many different opinions and emotions involved. When these changes become so difficult that an older adult is suffering or a family is divided, many families seek help to de­velop new ways of coping with their evolving relationships and changing realities.

Family and elder mediation bene­fits families who are unable to engage constructively in difficult conversations on behalf of aging loved ones. It provides an op­portunity for the elder and all concerned family members to communicate more effectively in order to reach agreement regard­ing important decisions in a way that can both prepare for the future and preserve relationships.