31 Jul Documenting Your Keepsakes and Family Heirlooms

If you have keepsakes or family heirlooms that you’ve put away, it’s important to document them now rather than later. In fact, documenting your family heirlooms is an important part of the estate planning process. Because estate planning isn’t only about financial matters—it’s also about leaving a legacy and preserving your family history. 

Whether you’re hand-labeling items or recording a video, telling the stories behind the objects will make them even more valuable to your heirs. Here’s how to get started.

Why It’s Important to Document Your Family Heirlooms

One of our clients, Alison, told us about how she had just finished sorting through her mother’s things. During the process, she found a lot of keepsakes. However, Alison wasn’t sure who they had belonged to. 

There were some things that were obviously from her mother’s lifetime, and others that might have belonged to her grandmother or even her great-grandmother. However, since Alison’s mother had already passed away, she had no way of knowing why each keepsake was significant. 

“It taught me a lesson,” Alison said. “I’m not going to make my kids have to wonder why I kept what I did. Like, I always kept my high school cheerleading uniform, because it represented a really big accomplishment. So I’m going to pack it away with my yearbooks and senior photos, and a letter about why cheerleading was so important to me.”

How to Document Your Keepsakes

First, describe the item. Give it a name like, “Grandma Sylvia’s Violet Teacup” or “1995 Cougars Cheerleading Uniform.” 

Next, record all the most important information:

• What is the history of this object? 
• Who did it belong to and when? 
• Why is it significant or sentimental?

If you like, you can include any “family legends” or stories about that item as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a great writer—telling the story in your own words will make it more memorable. Or, if you prefer, you can make an audio or video recording instead. 

Make a list of all the items you’re storing, and keep a copy of that list with your important documents. That way, you can refer to it when you write your will. 

You can choose to label each item individually, store it with a letter that tells its story, or collect all the information together in one place. Creating a folder or video is a great way to keep a record of your heirlooms for your heirs.

Get Help from Your Spouse or Kids

Since this is a task that people tend to put off, you might want to schedule a day and enlist the help of your family. And not only do you get help with the labeling and packing, it’s also a good way to gauge who might be interested in inheriting your keepsakes.

When you invite your children or grandchildren to help, you can tell them the history of your cherished keepsakes as you go along. They might even want to be involved in recording your memories or helping you design photo books. 

You might also want to help your parents or grandparents document their keepsakes and record their stories while they’re still living. Once you’ve finished recording your own keepsakes, you’ll have some tips to share on the best ways to go about the process.

Don’t Forget to Back Up Your Digital Memories

If all of your recent family photos are digital, make sure you have copies stored in at least two places—in cloud storage as well as on a hard drive. You might also want to get a few favorite photos printed. 

Photo books make a great keepsake, because you can add captions with names, dates, and events for future generations to read. Having hard copies as well as digital backups is the best way to preserve your family’s memories.

While you’re at it, you might also want to memorialize your Facebook page. After a profile has been memorialized, it won’t appear in reminders any more. Memorializing your page will deactivate your login and password, but leave your content available for your friends to see and share. 

List Any Significant Items in Your Will

Get an appraisal for valuable items like jewelry, antique furniture, or artwork. Documenting the provenance of these heirlooms now could make them even more valuable in the future. Include copies of any evaluation results or certificates of authenticity with your will. 

Sentimental items can be valuable, too. In fact, they’re one of the main causes of disputes among family members. If there is a particular object that is coveted by more than one person, it’s important to make your intentions clear. 

And don’t forget to include instructions in your will about how to access any password-protected files, such as your Google drive, Dropbox, or iPhoto accounts.

Schedule a Free Estate Planning Consultation at Phelps LaClair

If you’re just getting started with the estate planning process, documenting your family heirlooms is a great place to begin. You can include your list of heirlooms and personal items with your list of financial assets, deeds, and titles. When you meet with one of our legal experts, we’ll help you figure out your next best steps.

At Phelps LaClair, estate planning is all we do. We can help you write a legal will, set up a trust, and give you advice on asset protection. With multiple offices around the Phoenix area, there’s sure to be a location near you. Contact us to schedule a meeting today. 

Photo by Leah Hetteberg on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 6/30/25.