I recently read The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. Mr. Pausch was a computer science professor who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He had three young children and he wanted to give them a means to know who he was and that he loved them. During his last months he wrote this book. The book is very readable and moving. In the book Mr. Pausch provides his children with some of his life story and many of the lessons that he learned about the meaning of life and how to live a good life. He described writing letters telling his children about the things that he loved about them so that they later would know that he had truly loved them. He also told us that he asked his family and friends to step in after he was gone to provide some of the specific life experiences to his children that he wanted them to have.
The book has an added bonus in that Mr. Pausch’s lessons for living a successful life are applicable not just to his children but to the general public as well.
Part of the preparation of your estate plan should include letters and videos to your loved ones so that you can show them your love and life’s lessons. This book is a great starting place to see how it can be done without the task being overwhelming. I strongly urge you to consider adding letters and videos to your more traditional estate planning documents.
http://www.northshire.com/book/9781401323257
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