I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…

Alive and Kicking - Legal Advice For Boomers: Review

A month or two ago I was contacted by the publishers of Alive and Kicking - Legal Advice for Boomers by Kenney F. Hegland and Robert B. Fleming and asked if I’d like a review copy of the book. I read the snippet they sent me and the book sounded interesting, so I said yes. I’m not a boomer, but my parents are and they are rapidly approaching retirement age. I was hoping to pick up some tips for things to discuss with them, as well as awareness of some of the issues they may face that I haven’t considered.

The book is divided into a prologue and then six sections:

• Training For Ill
• Let the Good Times Roll: Retirement
• Trouble: Getting In and Getting Out
• In Case “Something Happens”
• Disability in the Family
• Death in the Family

The prologue to the book says basically to read the first section, which covers a wide range of topics, and then read the next five sections as you need to in your life.  I read the first section completely, and then read the second section (retirement) and skimmed through the remaining sections.

The first section, Training For Ill, really covers a wide variety of topics about growing older and things you need to consider.  There is information about everything from living wills to identity theft to strokes.  There is a big emphasis on scams and how to avoid them - it is a good resource for those who aren’t sure when they might be taken advantage of.  Being born before the onset of the information age” has its disadvantages and not being certain when an email solicitation is a scam is one of them (hint - they all are ).  I found this section to be entertaining yet serious when it needed to be, which made the information easy to understand yet not too dry to read.

The second section, retirement, I honestly think would be good for someone in their forties to read as well.  It gives a lot of “future planning” information (as well as information about options once you are already retired) but I think it would give someone closer to retirement but not there yet a realistic idea about options and what to consider.  There are sections on everything from IRAs to housing to reverse mortgages to long term care and taxes, and it covers a lot of information in enough detail to know if you need a more in-depth resource on the topic.

Overall, I found the book was written in a very entertaining and relatable manner. The authors sound like they are “one of us”, if us is the target audience, a person on the verge of or in the midst of retirement. I honestly have no idea of the age of the authors but they write as if they are going through the process with you. They are serious when they feel it needs to be serious, which contrasts nicely with the more lighthearted feel to a lot of the book. The book covers a lot of important topics in enough detail that you know the basics and know if you need to seek out further information on the topics to supplement it. I would recommend this book to those who are close to retirement and thinking about the logistics of it all - if you want to create the perfect retirement plan earlier in life, this probably isn’t the book for you, although you may glean a lot of useful information from it anyway.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think it addresses a lot of issues in one place that may not be covered elsewhere. I think I shall give it to my parents now that I’ve read it and see what they think of it.  I’m really glad I read this book and I think it will give me a way to open some conversations with my parents I haven’t had and need to.

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Next week I am going to start reviewing a book I was recently sent by the publisher for review - Jean Chatzky’s Make Money Not Excuses  - I have never read any of Chatzky’s books before, and I can honestly say this is one of the best books I have read in a long time as far as how it related to me and my engagement with it.  It is pretty blunt but in a good way, I think, and I am looking forward to delving into it in detail.  A book than convinced me to box up half my CD collection for sale or donation is a good book. 

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