When you are engaged in the process of estate planning there are myriad legal and financial matters to address, and it all involves preparing your assets for transferal to your heirs upon your passing. When you see the term “your assets” most people think about monetary assets, but each human being has acquired something much more valuable. If you could impart your knowledge and experience to your loved ones upon your passing this would be a gift beyond compare on multiple levels, and it can be done if you take the time to write your memoirs.

Each one of us has taken a unique path through life, and since the subject of this blog is estate planning it is worthwhile to underscore the fact that recounting the ways that you were able to build your wealth would certainly be of enormous value to your loved ones. But that is not the only reason to write your autobiography or at least share a number of autobiographical anecdotes with your loved ones (and generations still unborn).

Your earliest memories will tell of a time that few if any of your family members have experienced, and the characters therein will be ancestors that the succeeding generations will have never known. When you share your life story you provide your family with an intimate connection to their own roots, and you can be sure that this access to the past will be genuinely treasured into perpetuity.

Aside from providing a connection to the family’s heritage and the “secrets of your success,” writing your memoirs can also be cathartic for you as the author. As you look back on the meaningful events of your life and record them in writing you will invariably feel a sense of release and perhaps some much needed closure. The personal side of your memoirs will give your family a chance to understand you just a little bit better, and in the process you are likely to learn something about yourself as well.

Tags: Estate Planning, Inheritance Planning, retirement planning