Writing a Dying Letter

I read an article today about Elizabeth Edwards passing away. I was struck by a comment made by someone close to the family. They were talking about her preparing her family for her death by writing a "dying letter", a way to pass on her wisdom and stories.

This hit really close to home because I believe in the value of this act so much. I believe it will truly mean something to her family. My Digital Afterlife gives the ability to not only write a letter like Mrs. Edwards but also more- important information, videos, and pics.

When we began this mission it was with soldiers and single parents in mind but as time has gone on our vision and our hope is that anyone can be able to coordinate something such as this, that many will find comfort from it, and that we can continue to endeavor to do whatever it takes to facilitate something that is valuable to families and friends.

As always we wish only the best for her family and all families that endure the heartbreak of losing someone they love.

How to Prepare for Death (When it is Hard to Even Think About)

How do you begin to think about how to plan for death? 

Death can have so many emotions surrounding it. Almost everyone has felt the pain of losing someone and it is hard not to equate that with thoughts of our own death. For me I couldn't get myself to plan for something that I consciously made an effort not to think or talk about.

We are all facing the inevitably and thinking about preparing for death will undoubtedly come up at some point, but take just one second to consider how you may have felt when you lost someone and imagine if could be different.

Sometimes it can feel silly thinking about our mortality, or the situation may be one where it is scary to think of what would happen if we were no longer around. For me it was fear.

No one wants to think upon this moment in the context of themselves or anyone else they love,  but there is no way to know when and how long you will be around to take care of your family.  As a mother it has always been difficult for me to think about being out of the picture. The very idea of my children not having me to tell them how much I love them, it literally makes me ache inside. Up until recently I became quite good at putting it out of my mind completely, but as sometimes happens when we try to ignore something, the more I tried not to think about it the more it would spring up in my mind.

I don't remember how exactly but somewhere along the way I began to think about the consequences that would face my children by not thinking about it and instead I chose to plan for the eventuality that someday I may not be there(I pray not until they are grown).

And so that is where I am, here, saying out loud that your life matters. Every life is valuable to everyone who is close to them. You may be gone but your family will benefit immensely from your planning for this moment. It never will be a happy topic to discuss or plan for, but it can be dealt with in a way that provides you with peace of mind knowing your family is prepared as much as they can be, and we can never know but it is nice to think it may make it somewhat easier.


This does not have to just be about sitting in a lawyers office drafting legal paperwork regarding your assets (although that is important), what I am talking about is having the ability to give your loved ones the chance to treasure and value your story, your ancestry, and receive some comfort from you even in death.

First things first, here are 5 important ways you can prepare for death:

• Write a list of all your assets.

• Use an estate lawyer and draw up an estate plan that will best benefit the beneficiaries of your property.  Many people think they just need a will but there may be better options for your situation such as a living trust or you may need to address guardianship of children and a lawyer is the best person to help you.

• Make sure that you include advanced health directives, health care proxies, or living wills in your estate plan this is something that a lawyer can help with also. These documents help decide your medical care in any situation and allow people to respect your wishes regarding your health.

• Consider what digital property you have- this can be blogs, social media accounts, email, online friends, accounts that are billing you, websites you own. As well as information that your family may need- social security, locations of bank accounts, retirement and pension information, health care information, safe deposit boxes, contacts of people you work with - and what you want to happen with these or who will need this information.

• Think about what words you want to say that are important that you know your loved ones need or want to hear in the event that you can't be there to tell them.

Lastly, consider the impact of the personal aspects of this planning. What would it mean to you to have your loved ones know what they meant to you? What if they received a letter from you? -your child, your husband or wife, your sibling even.

Can You Plan for Death? Yes and No

Can you plan for death? You will never be able to know when the day will come but yes you can definitely plan for it. Over time you'll notice a lot of references to our site My Digital Afterlife , so in case you are wondering who exactly we are and what do we do, this post is for you.

First thing first.

What do we do?
Your My Digital Afterlife account can  upload pictures, video, and documents which can be attached to letters and assigned to anyone. They will receive it upon your death, if they choose, and they can keep their page with everything you give them for a long as they like. Leave letters that tells what you know of your past, your history, or anything you choose to write about. Choose the asset section that allows you to leave informational assets such as social media accounts, email, contact information, etc.  

Who are we?
Our site is a catalyst where your future and past meet and can be preserved they way you like for whomever you like. We can be used for specific situations or just because. My Digital Afterlife was developed to ensure that anything you have to say that can in any way aid in the comfort of those you love, can be said and delivered to your recipient when they need it most.

We are a company born from people just like you, with jobs, families, and a story. You can be a father, a mother, a soldier , a friend, someone's child, you can be anyone and you can leave something for everyone.

Our site is designed to be easy to use, secure, and private giving you unlimited storage and recipients, no matter what plan you choose. Know what your getting with four tutorial videos that show you a glimpse of each aspect of what your account does, starting with registration and ending with the recipients pages. 

Thinking about what will happen when I no longer with my children motivates me to find ways to make it easier on them.

For me,  I wanted to know that my children and husband will each a receive a letter when I die that will spell out for them just what they mean to me. If they are old enough I will assign it to them personally and if they aren't I will send them all to my husband for them to have. I hope that it will be something that they can keep so that when I am not with them they will have a piece of me to carry with them. I want them to know they are loved more than anything.

I will also tell my children what I know about my family- where they came from and what became of them. I will also leave letters for my few closest friends as well and all the account information I have for my spouse.

Naming your lawyer as a recipient and providing any information that is constantly changing that they will require in the account for them, will save you from billable hours everytime you reset your password. With My Digital Afterlife a recipient of your choosing can receive all of your social media and email accounts with instructions for what you like to happen to them.

Receiving letters or notes personal value will be no less important to your family and friend than having a will. No amount of words will cure the grief but I believe wholeheartedly it will help. Have the peace of mind in knowing that those you love know always know how much you love them.  

3 Reasons Why Ancestry is Important to the Future

Ancestry is defined as one's lineage or descent, it is your own unique and personal history defined by your family and their stories. Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

When I was younger and before I had children I rarely ever thought of who my grandparents were, who their parents were, or even how we came to be in the United States. The older I became the more I thought about it and the more important history became to me. I found myself thinking about how easy it is to become so hyper-focused on the day to day details that we forgot that life is our story and that story is intertwined with that of our ancestors.

Not that long ago my aunt at decided she wanted to research our family ancestry going so far as to travel to the country our family originally came from, Scotland.  The details she gleaned about my family, their story and their presence over the course of time really gave me more of a sense of myself. I found myself thinking more about the big picture and valuing time a little bit more than I had before.

Ancestry is a personal journey and so the reasons why people are interested in their ancestry or that of others can be varied, but if you allow me I would like to share with you why I think ancestry is so important to the future.

1. Learning-On a broader basis history continually shapes who we are, what we will and can become. The history of our family, our country, our world, our choices, and their outcomes all effect our ability to move forward into the future positively and productively. It is from history we get our research and understanding and from this innovation is born. By providing our story we deliver a greater understanding of our history and ancestry to our future generations.

2. Innovation- innovation is defined as making a change or doing something new, with our past we are able to discern new paths.

3. Personal Connection- personal connection is where our humanity lies and in humanity is our ability to positively effect our world, our selves, and our loved ones. Even with the expansion of our abilities as we innovate- especially in the digital arena- our true strength lies in our humanity.

As a company ancestry is one of the aspects we would like to contribute to for our users. We consistently strive to be able to benefit our users and their recipients in ways that foster our personal connection which we believe can contribute to innovation and learning in the future.

We would love to hear your thoughts on ancestry and the future.

Featured in Mass High Tech's Start Up Watch

Every week Mass High Tech picks 10 start ups to poll. Subscribers pick 5 out of the ten that they would like to know more about and Mass High Tech features them as Five to Follow. This week 10/19/10 we were chosen as one of the five, and we are very happy to know people are getting interested in the service we provide. We plan on working with our customers to keep our service up to date, innovative, and secure for as long as they'll have us.

Come check our service out and let us partner with you in planning for your future.

Preserve Your History with a Digital Time Capsule

Over the last few years with advancement of the internet we have seen interest in ancestry and history take a new turn- think Ancestry.com for example. Availability of information through utilization of the internet has provided people with new outlets and sources to search for their family's heritage.

One of the newest aspects of this field has seen companies develop recently. These companies provide a way for us to preserve our ancestry, our history for our future generations more readily than our ancestors were able to in the past.

What does this mean for our families and loved ones in their future?

For more information on preserving you ancestry or just insuring your loved ones have everything they need in the future sign up for or service 30 days risk free. www.mydigitalafterlife.com

My Digital Afterlife Digital Era Estate Planning 101

Estate Planning 101

Have you ever thought about what your wishes should something happen to you? Do you own property- car, jewelry, house, boat, savings account, bonds, investments, etc? Have family or loved ones?

Basic estate planning is important in any stage in life because it addresses key elements of your life plan. If you aren't sure if you have a life plan, estate planning is about asking the questions that reveal what your life plan may be.

There are several elements to estate planning but an important first step is to write down and think about the property or assets you may own. Whether you own property or your finances are tied into loans for your property, an estate plan addresses what your wishes are regarding your property or who you wish to manage your finances should something ever happen to you.

When you are making a list of the things you own don't forget to include any digital property you own such as web pages, web accounts, or businesses- we are living in a digital era and most people have several accounts that they use on the internet- Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, Twitter, Ecrate, Ebay, the list of possibilities is endless but all of these accounts constitute your digital identity and should be included in your list of assets.

The other elements of an estate plan will include health care proxy, power of attorney, living will, will, and or trusts. These are the plans where you implement the steps to be taken in the event that you become incapacitated or in the event of your death.

Health care proxy for example will ensure that a person of your choosing will carry out your medical wishes should you be unable to do so. A living will is an extension of the health care proxy. Where the health care proxy is the person you choose to oversee your medical care, your living will is your health care directive which tells people what you choose for medical treatments.

Trusts are another way of ensuring that your wishes regarding your assets are carried out. In short they are way to place stipulations on your assets but also give you a way to help loved ones avoid larger taxes on your estate. Lastly, a will is a document or device that lets your wishes known regarding all your property and finances as well as guardianship of any minor children.

While all of things can be beneficial estate planning is personal and so you can choose which aspects you prefer to utilizing according to what is best for you. You may consider it morbid to consider this aspect of your life but estate planning is necessary and important especially if you have preferences regarding your assets.


Food for thought.....

Estate planning is done with your family lawyer to solidify your wishes legally. As we move further into the era of digital everything consider some non traditional services to extend and enhance your estate planning needs beyond those that your lawyer or legal adviser may offer.

My Digital Afterlife is one service that allows you to store contacts, accounts, personal letters, video, or documents can allow you to prepare basic elements and allow you to combine your traditional estate planning with modern online choices for a holistic and complete approach.