Estate Planning

A Beautiful Legacy

By Hull and Hull LLP

Legacy, and all that it encompasses is often at the forefront of Estate litigation. ‘Dad didn't want that' or ‘Mom would have wanted me to have that' is often at the heart of the arguments we make. It must certainly be prevalent in the minds of testators when they are considering who gets what. One of the most common concerns we see, is ensuring that your children will spend your money in a way that you would have supported. However, I blogged yesterday on the recent trend of the very wealthy to leave their monetary legacy to charity; reinforcing the idea that sometimes, it is not only money that we are worried about, but also a continuation of our ideals, and our intentions to better those around us.   ‘Beautifulpeople.com' has taken this one step further, the concern now being focused on the physical aspects of your legacy.

BeautifulPeople.com is essentially a dating website, with a twist. You can only become a member through a democratic vote in which some 600,000 people are asked to assess your photo for attractiveness; if the vote says attractive, then welcome; if unattractive, goodbye. Recently, BeautifulPeople.com has launched a new forum on its website for the purpose of finding sperm and egg donors. Donors are of course limited to those who are ‘attractive'.   The founder of BeautifulPeople maintains that the new forum on its website is merely a mechanism by which individuals with fertility issues can find appropriate donors, however, he notes, as reported by the National Post, that 'Every parent would like their child to be blessed with many fine attributes, attractiveness being one of the most sought after.'

At first glance, I was incredulous! Really? A website where only beautiful people can find sperm and egg donors? But, alas, the managing director assures that the site is for everyone ‘including ugly people'. In trying to approach this from every angle, I must consider whether it is possible that this is really just another part of your legacy? It seems that in many ways we take steps to prepare our children for all possibilities, trying to give them any edge we can to make their lives better than the ones we had. I suppose, in the midst all this consideration of ‘legacy', maybe it's not all money and reputation, but also appearance.

Something to think about,

Nadia Harasymowycz

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on August 12, 2010 (boomark / email).