Family wealth comes in various forms- some money is split among siblings or various relatives. Most relatives get worldly possessions. The items of living a good life like furniture, dishes, rugs, clothing, jewelry. Among the items left from living a good life are the memory items like photos, videos, audio tapes, special mementos. These memory things are quite often a point of contention in families. They are singular and there are many who want them. I have heard countless stories about one family member sneaking into the house and taking those things they wanted. Doing it in secret and never mentioning it again to avoid the wrath of the family. That is the old way. There is a better way.

Memory items are irreplacable, but now with the new technology, we can duplicate them. Duplicate them, and many times the duplicate is actually better than the original! With digital color correction, restoration, video editing, and noise cancellation, we can turn back the time on these treasures. We can make those 8 mm film reels into files that can be watched again very easily — not just watched but watched by all of the family!

What to do with your inherited family memory wealth? An easy solution is to gather all the family memory items and take them to someone who can digitize them. Sharing the cost among family members makes it affordable by all… Split the originals and give everyone a digital copy of everything — no need to sneak into grandma’s cabinet and hide them away. Everyone can share the memories. Isn’t that what grandma and grandpa would want anyway? They would want everyone to come together and take joy in the wealth that is a life well lived.