Would you write your kids an ’emotional will’?

A will is a very personal thing and while everyone plans theirs a little differently, one woman is going down a decidedly different path and penning her children an “emotional will”.

In her regular column for The Times, Lauren Libbert wrote that as well as the usual parts of a will, she’s including a collection of letters for her two sons, that will hopefully give them a bit of comfort once she is gone.

Each year, as she wraps their birthday presents and plans their parties, the woman also compiles the letters, full of memories and great experiences they have enjoyed together.

“The letter might not be read for years to come but is written each year and filed in digital and print form,” she explained. “One day, when I’m gone, I imagine them dipping into these birthday files as and when the urge takes them – drawing comfort and guidance from my words when I am no longer there to say them face-to-face.”

It may not be a normal part of a will, but the mother said she hopes it will help her children feel connected to her after her death because like many may others, she struggled to come to grips with her own mother’s passing.

Read more: 7 weird requests in wills of the rich and famous

“After my mother died three years ago, I was left gasping for something – anything – personal from her to me,” she explained. “When you lose a mother, you lose part of yourself, for a while at least… She is the lens through which your early years are lived; the storehouse for your memories. And without her, you stumble.

“Leaving a spiritual legacy or ’emotional will’ for my children, where I note down my boys’ individual character traits and strengths and record any significant childhood scrapes or acts of kindness, is something I feel I need to do.”

She isn’t the only one to think outside the box when it comes to wills.

According to The Guardian American comedian Jack Benny included a provision in his will, to have one long-stemmed red rose delivered to his wife every day for the rest of her life.

While a wealthy Portuguese man decided to leave his estate to complete strangers, randomly selecting 70 lucky people from a phone book. 

What are your thoughts on this? Have you created a unique will?