“Who are those people in my guest room closet?” The question was intriguing, and the answer required many hours of research. Boxes of family photos stored on the upper shelf of the guest room closet held the clues. Many of the pictures were of people my friend had known since childhood. Others were labeled and she knew who they were, though they had passed away even before her birth. What frustrated her were that those not labeled. She embarked on a quest to find out who those people were and how they happened to be in her family pictures.

“I found another one!” she would shout with excitement! And so she did find many, carefully labeling and adding another person to her family tree. It was wonderful that she found the time for searching and that she experienced joy in the process.

Still, if you have pictures in your closet, I encourage you to label all of them that you can personally identify. If you have older relatives, please urge them to add what information they have. Too often such pictures end up in estate sales and perhaps used in art projects, recycled or even trashed.

Each one of us wants our own life to be remembered and to have some significance to other generations. To ensure that we pass on our values, experiences and hard earned lessons, we must label our pictures and record our truths. If you are not a writer, perhaps you can tell your stories to someone who can write them for you.

The gift of yourself is every bit as important as the gift of your wealth. Both are important to preserve and transmit to your loved ones. It is easy to procrastinate and assume that we will have time to take care of our legacies “some day.” It is better to simply make it a habit to regularly update our plans and ensure all of our gifts to future generations.

Perhaps you have not prepared a traditional will or trust. Maybe you have not added an ethical will or have not updated your plan recently. I invite you call or come in to review your plan and make changes or additions that may be needed. We are dedicated to helping you plan for the two most important things in your life: everything you own and everyone you love.”