Important Legacies Are On Paper

In her Motion to Organize weekly column, lawyer Jennifer Gumbel talks organization, productivity, and more.

My day job is helping people with their own, or someone else’s, financial legacies.

But there are so many more things that make up legacies. Paper, can help with the important ones. This is something I talk about at my own website, An Organized (after)Life.

Think about the things you think about when you think of the people who are important to you who are gone. Music, language, sports teams…And food.

The Wall Street Journal recently talked about how people are returning to recipe cards. Pinterest and other digital systems are great, but how can other people access your go-to recipes? Even if they can find something digitally, nothing replaces your handwriting. If you’re a cook or a baker, your loved ones turning to your time-tested recipes and seeing your handwriting, get a special piece of you.

Think about all of the meaningful ways you can pass on your legacy.

A list of meaningful music or your journal, in your handwriting, are ways to pass on your memories and values. At holiday time or at upcoming weddings, think about making a binder of laminated recipes from people important to the couple. My husband and I got one and it’s a cherished item for important cooking.

As you think about estate planning, think about how you will pass on legacies more important than money.

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Written by Jennifer Gumbel

Jennifer Gumbel is an estate planning and probate lawyer in Austin, Minnesota. She takes her morbid nerd-dom to another level by talking about how to organize your after life, with the website An Organized (after)Life and the podcast, An Organized (after)Life, which you can find on the website, Spreaker and ITunes. You can also find her on Instagram with pics on death organizing and small town Minnesota life at the handle @jengumbel.