5 Ways to Preserve Your Legacy

It's been said that only two things are certain in life: death and taxes. When your time comes, make sure the legend of you lives on. Go out in style for posterity.

Legacy Planning

Just because your life is over, doesn’t mean your legacy can’t live on.

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our legacy can realize incredible things that were impossible for your physical body, such as space travel and even shape shifting. Post-mortem arrangements are beginning to resemble something out of a science-fiction novel, but can also be as simple and profound as a pre-recorded message for your family to enjoy after you pass. Whether you are more down-to-earth or want to shoot for the stars (literally), there are uniquely special preparations you can make to go out with a bang, live forever among the stars, or even be revived should future technology allow!

1. Freeze yourself

Cryopreserved patients are cooled to liquid nitrogen temperature with the hope that scientific procedures will someday revive them and restore them to youth and good health. Meaning–scientific advancements permitting–you could live indefinitely in the future. This process is supported by extensive research and inspired by Robert Ettinger, author of “The Prospect of Immortality,” who entered cryofreeze in 2011, awaiting his reawakening. cryonics.org 

2. Living wills

Change is the only constant in life, and for that you should always be prepared with a plan that changes with you as well. Nest Estate Planning by L. Rachel Wilson, based in Savannah, recognizes clients’ unique needs and offers plans tailored to any circumstance. Wilson explains, “We look at what you have right now, and what would happen if you passed, and then we look at what you would want to happen instead. Then the client makes the choice of what kind of plan they want.”

It’s one thing to get your finances in order, but it’s another to consider the intangible wealth that will pass away with you. “There’s more than one kind of wealth,” Wilson says. “Sometimes your stories, wisdom and experiences are one of your greatest sources of wealth and one that you want to pass on to your children.” Nest Estate Planning includes Legacy Interviews so your family can be comforted by your recorded wisdom. nestestateplanning.com

3. Space burial

Your loved ones can watch as your remains launch into space on a rocket, which deploys your capsule to float amongst the stars or fly out to the expanses of the Milky Way. Options for burial include becoming a shooting star through Earth’s atmosphere, resting in moon dust, or being sent out of the Earth-moon system entirely, into the outer galaxy. beyondburials.com

4. Become a diamond

Diamonds are forever, and you can be, too. While the circle of life indicates that our bodies become the grass, technology now allows us to break the cycle, becoming a luxury gemstone. LifeGem recreates the forces of the Earth in a laboratory to pressurize remains into certified, high quality diamonds to be treasured by loved ones. This process can also be done for furry and four-legged friends as well. lifegem.com

5. Send your DNA to the moon

Spend eternity on the moon! LifeShip is sending a biobank of DNA to the moon, offering the chance to preserve your family genetics and travel where few others have been. You can watch as your DNA descends on the North Pole of the moon on the Peregrine Lander by Astrobotic, where you’ll stay and watch over Earth forever after your body passes on. lifeship.com


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