We talk a lot about money at this site, and rightly so. We try to spend it wisely, saving any penny we can. We try to budget it, save it, invest it, and give it. We talk about building wealth and reducing debt. But one thing I haven’t talked about much is estate planning. Do we have a plan for our wealth for when we are gone? We know we can’t take it with us, but we also should know how we are going to give it away.

As I was meeting with a Financial Advisor for some church related financial planning, he gave me a booklet entitled “Family Love Letter”, Information in a Time of Confusion. It is a great booklet that helps you gather the information you need to pass on to your loved ones. You can purchase this booklet or read more about it at www.familyloveletter.com. From the website:

The family love letter is is a gift – of time, love, and clarity – it is a Legacy for the Living. We will all leave a legacy. Will it be a legacy of confusion or information? Will we add to the trauma of our death or incapacity by adding to its inherit confusion, or leave a road map for those to follow? Will we leave a Legacy for the Living – of the stories, hopes, and desires for our family?

It is a fairly comprehensive planning tool that will help you, and ultimately your loved ones. It has the following sections:

Section 1: Advisers & Assets – a place to list things like stockbrokers, employers, lawyers, doctors, etc. This is the section where you will also list annuities, stocks and securities, mutual funds, cash funds, real estate, etc.
Section 2: Financial Information – this financial information is specifically your liabilities. Mortgages, credit cards, leases, liens, etc.
Section 3: Insurance and Benefits – this lists the types of insurance and coverage you have, employment benefits, etc.
Section 4: Documents & Other Information – this lists all the documents you have executed and when they were signed and where they are located. Things like wills, trusts, power of attorney, etc.
Section 5: Family History and Ethical Will. This section lists your history, who your parents were, grandparents, brothers and sisters, etc. it is like a miniature genealogy. It lists what groups you belong to (religious groups, fraternal groups, etc.), and other items that would be pertinent to a obituary. it also includes an ethical will–what is important to you, what have you learned in life, what do you value, what you want remembered.

Overall I think it can be a valuable tool to help you get started, or at least know some of the information you will need for a lawyer to do a will. I like it because it lists the names and places of where things can be found, and your estate will know what items to even look for. The one drawback to me is that it is a booklet and that it is not online. I could see this changing yearly and it being a pain to update by hand. I have the booklet, but I will probably not fill the booklet out – I will probably put it on the computer and then print out a copy for filing. With the info on the computer I can add, delete, update more easily.

Have you started your estate planning yet, at least having a will? It is never too early to start!