A Final Note: An Estate Planning Love Letter

A Final Note: An Estate Planning Love Letter

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

February 14, 2023

Happy Valentine's Day!  Today we pause to send messages of love and affection to our soul mates as well as treasured family and friends.  According to Britannica, the custom of sending missives of love and affection dates back to the 1500s.  The first commercially produced Valentines began to hit store shelves in the 1800s.  Today we can purchase them in bulk at our grocery store, send electronic cards via Hallmark, or post a gif on our social media tagging our beloveds.  Time has changed the medium, but the expression of love remains. 

On this day set aside for love, it is with fond memory I recall reading a letter a client had written to their spouse.  It was to be a final letter, and in my mind, a love letter for the ages.  The words were not dripping with love and passion, but were a pragmatic list of items the reader would need to address when the author had passed.  From where I sit at my estate planning and probate desk, I know how meaningful and loving a letter can be that addresses the daily ins and outs of life.  For example:

• the age of household appliances and the quirks of getting them to work;
• instructions on how to drain the backyard pond along with a notation to insert a blank of wood for the critters to crawl to safety;
• an itemized list of professional and or hobby equipment that is valuable and should be sold, by whom, or what should be donated and where; and
• details on the maintenance of a car, boat or other forms of transport.

These are just a few ideas.  What elements of your life might benefit from being written down and left behind for your loved ones.  Perhaps slipping some of those candy hearts into the envelope might be a touching gesture as well.

Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2023

Thanks for reading.  Remember that a blog is not a substitute for an attorney; it is intended to spark thoughts and conversations.  It is best to seek counsel from a licensed attorney in your home state.