Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The first wealth is health.” What he meant is without good health every part of your life suffers.

Certainly, individual lifestyles contribute to good health. But there’s more. Some aspects of health are genetic. It helps to inherit a sturdy gene pool. In some instances, you can influence bad genes with positive habits. In some instances, you cannot.

In either case, the question remains: What damaging, even life-threatening, genes am I passing down to my descendants? Include answers to the following questions in your estate wellness plan. Some address health care in the “olden days,” which is very interesting. Others address inherited genetic conditions, which is even more interesting.

Your descendants deserve to know.

What normal childhood diseases did you have? Tell a story about how they were treated.

Did you receive vaccinations? Which ones? What is your opinion about vaccinations?

Tell a story about the family doctor making a house call when you were a child.

Tell a story about going to the doctor’s office when you were a child.

Tell a story about old-fashioned remedies your mother used—mustard plasters, herbal teas, whiskey laced with lemon and honey, etc.

Tell a story about your mother smearing you with Vicks VapoRub.

Tell a story about the polio scare. Tell a story about your first polio vaccine.

Tell a story about going to the dentist before Novocain.

When you lost a tooth did the tooth fairy come? How much did she leave?

Tell a story about what you DO to stay healthy.

What medications do you take? What should your family members know about your medications?

Do you have genetic conditions your descendants should know about? What are they? How have you addressed them?

Where do you keep your medical records? Do you want a family member (family members) to have access to your records? Who?

If you no long are able to care for yourself, what do you want to happen?

What advice about staying healthy do you want to pass on to your descendants?

It’s been said, “Getting old is not a spectator’s sport.” How is your health different today than it was thirty years ago?