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Upon the death of a loved one, there are always questions among surviving family members. Whether their questions concern legal, financial, business or personal matters, the uncertainty of how to proceed can leave a mourning family in great distress. Worse still, without having specific guidelines to follow, conflicts can lead to feuding and law suits, or at a minimum, unnecessary ill will. Surely this is not what the deceased would have wanted.

Now there is a way for families to prevent this sort of confusion by video recording the wishes of the estate holder by a professional, outside producer. The DVD is then distributed upon their death in tandem with settling the estate.

Rather than interfering with the written estate plan or the wills and trusts, video presentations compliment the legal proceedings by allowing the estate holder to explain their decisions, share their values, document the family history, make special requests and express their love.

Another important advantage is that these personal statements can be recorded while the wills and estates are being drafted so that they clarify the legalese in terms that people will understand. They can also bring closure to what might otherwise be unsettling issues.

Leron Kornreich, a former broadcast journalist, began producing legacy videos two years ago and has seen an increased demand for this service now that people understand their intrinsic value. Though the videos are not legally binding, they can offer detailed instructions, comfort loved ones, and make otherwise uncomfortable situations easier for family members to accept.

Her company, www.timelessvideolegacy.com, specializes in creating estate planning videos (she also creates video biographies and tribute videos for celebrations), at a cost of $2,500-$5,500 and up. Based on the west coast, Ms. Kornreich travels across the country to conduct the on-camera interviews (to avoid paying travel expenses, coordinate a taping based on mutual travel plans).  For information on other companies offering videography services, contact the Association of Personal Historians (www.personalhistorians.org)

As a Certified Financial Planner who has helped thousands of clients work through difficult financial issues after the loss of a parent or loved one, I can attest to the importance of documenting as much as possible while being of sound mind and body. Anything that can be done to reduce the emotional toll could well be the best legacy one leaves behind.

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Tags: estate planning, financial planning, lee rosenberg, lee rosenberg cfp, living wills, loss of loved one, trusts

About the Author: Lee Rosenberg is the Co-founder of ARS Financial Services, Inc. As a Certified Financial Planner with more than 34 years of solid financial expertise. Lee is a registered representative of Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. He was also named one of the top 25 Independent Financial Advisers in the US by Rep magazine.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 1:51 pm and is filed under estate planning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.