Affairs of (real) Estate

What is our responsibility — to ourselves, our family, and our community — for the assets we have accumulated during our lives? I confronted this question last year, when I turned sixty-five and reckoned with the good fortune bestowed upon me.

Fresh senior citizens in these United States are inundated with information about Social Security, Medicare, and Estate Planning. Silver-haired gents in boxy suits at Residence Inn function rooms dissect the minutiae of Parts A & B. They intone the virtues of revocable trusts. As a person blessed with comprehensive health insurance who’s allergic to any investment more complex than a no-load mutual fund, preparing for old age and beyond loomed unsavory. But after witnessing the chaotic aftermath of two friends who died without wills, I knew the responsible thing to do. So I sucked it up, enrolled in Medicare, and prepared an estate plan.

Friends all know my personal mantra, “It doesn’t cost much to be Paul Fallon.” I don’t have extravagant tastes, buy grown-up toys, or play the horses. Although architects are among the lowest paid professionals, I enjoyed a long run of middle-class income. So it wasn’t a complete surprise to discover that fully vesting my 401K year after year accumulated into a robust Vanguard balance.

The shocker came from real estate. Back in 1992, when most families with young children…