Make Your Life Story Part of Your Legacy

Estate planning involves the tangible, things like asset transferal and health care preparations, but there is something far more significant at play when you are planning for the end of your life. When you inventory your possessions you may find that the sentimental value of some of the things that you are passing on means far more to you to than their monetary value. Indeed, the things that we hold dearest can’t be bought or sold.

The path that you have taken is unique, and each of us has a story to tell. If you would like to leave a truly lasting legacy that will touch the hearts of your loved ones, consider writing your life story and making it part of your estate. Doing this has enormous value on many different levels. For one thing, the backdrop of your story is going to span the times within which you lived, from childhood through to your twilight years. This in itself is a valuable, instructive historical chronicle written from the perspective of a fair witness.

On a more personal level, you are a link between those who came before you and succeeding generations. When you pass away that link remains in the memories of those who survive you, but it weakens over time. When you write your autobiography and pass it along to your loved ones, they will always have that connection to their roots that you embodied while you were alive. And indeed, those who are born after you are gone will also be privy to the details of how their family tree branched out across the generations.

Leaving instructions for the distribution of your assets when you pass away is one thing. But passing along the knowledge, wisdom, and experience that was necessary to be able to accumulate these assets is something else entirely.