Buddhist Estate Planning

Buddhists believe that death is not the end of someone. The process of rebirth is still a path to attain awakening. One’s rebirth depends on his deeds on the previous life. This follows the law of karma where one faces the consequences of his/her immoral actions or reaps the fruit of his/her previous moral life.

The Buddhist theory of Karma provides that everything done in a particular life, as well as in past lives, influences and affects future lives. Estate Planning or the lack of may affect our loved ones in a negative way that can be avoided.

The law of karma has it that everyone is responsible for any action he or she takes be it positive or negative. You must face the consequences of your bad deeds or reap the fruits of your good deeds in a future time.

When you experience either good or bad things, it is likely the effect of your past actions. That is to say, the actions you took previously in the same lifetime or in the previous lifetime.

So what does estate planning have to do with karma?

If you undertake an act of disinheriting an heir out of anger, it can be viewed as creating a negative influence that may be carried on through rebirth to the next life. Buddhism would advocate that you take action out of compassion and not anger.

The absence of proper estate planning is considered as an omission of care for our family and community. If we know that there is a possibility that our children may fight over our assets and we do not craft a will to properly assign them their shares in your estate, it could have a negative impact on them and we have no one to blame but ourselves. We have a moral responsibility of protecting our loved ones and to plan your will properly is one way of doing so.