Digital Legacy Planning: The ‘Lifemaxxing’ Trend Helping Families Avoid Conflict After Death
Australians are turning to digital legacy planning to maximise the effect of their wishes from the grave. Two founders have coined this trend “lifemaxxing.”
The founders of My TAP® and My Time and Place run a new digital legacy planning platform. They say uncertainty, not greed, increasingly fuels family disputes. Many people now use technology to solve these issues before death, rather than leaving them for their families to untangle afterward.
Isla George and Lisa Wendland said families often struggle to interpret what a loved one wanted after they die. This struggle can fracture relationships, breed years of resentment, and in some cases, cause permanent estrangement.
Why Family Disputes Happen After a Loved One Dies
Wills determine who legally receives assets, the founders explained. But Wills rarely answer the deeply personal questions that cause the greatest conflict.
Who was meant to receive Mum’s engagement ring? Who should have Dad’s favourite watch? Would treasured family photographs go to one child over another? Which grandchildren were meant to inherit sentimental possessions? What type of funeral did they really want? What final messages did they hope their family would hear?
Grieving families often make assumptions when those answers don’t exist. Those assumptions can have devastating consequences.
“That is why we developed My TAP®, to help families solve these issues in life and we have been overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to use it. It really is a form of lifemaxxing. The app is giving people the opportunity to ensure their wishes and memories are extended and shared across their loved ones long after they are gone,” Ms George said.
How My TAP® Supports Digital Legacy Planning
The Australian-developed platform lets people securely record their final wishes, funeral arrangements and life story. Users can also save cherished memories, sentimental possessions, important documents, and heartfelt written, audio and video messages. This gives loved ones clarity when they need it most. Too many families pay an emotional price, Ms George added, simply because important conversations never took place.
“People often assume families fall apart because of money, but that isn’t always the case,” Ms George said.
“Some of the biggest arguments happen over the things that carry emotional value rather than financial value. A family heirloom, a handwritten letter, jewellery, photographs or something that may be worthless financially but priceless emotionally.
“When nobody knows what Mum or Dad actually wanted, every family member believes they are doing the right thing. Unfortunately, those different interpretations can quickly become disagreements and those disagreements can destroy relationships that have lasted a lifetime.
“We’ve seen families stop speaking to one another, siblings become estranged and grandchildren lose contact with relatives because uncertainty created conflict that simply didn’t need to happen.”
Many people spend decades building a life for those they love, Ms George said. Few take the time to explain what should happen when they are gone.
“One honest conversation today can save years of heartbreak tomorrow,” she said.
Planning Ahead Is an Act of Love
Lisa Wendland said the founders’ own experiences of loss inspired them to create My TAP®. Those experiences taught them the emotional burden families carry when wishes go undocumented.
“Losing someone you love is already one of life’s most difficult experiences,” Ms Wendland said.
“The last thing families should be dealing with is uncertainty, disagreement or guilt about whether they made the right decisions.
“We created My TAP® because we want families to stay together, not fall apart. We want children to remember the love their parents left behind, not arguments over possessions. We want brothers and sisters supporting one another through grief, not becoming strangers because nobody knew what Mum or Dad really wanted.”
Paper documents fade, and people forget conversations over time. My TAP® solves this by letting users continually update their wishes as life changes. The platform works alongside a Will rather than replacing one, adding personal guidance and messages that legal documents can’t provide. Australians need to normalise conversations about planning ahead, the founders believe — not because something bad is imminent, but because life is unpredictable.
“We insure our homes, our cars and our health because we understand the importance of preparing for the unexpected,” Ms George said.
“Preparing your family shouldn’t be any different.”
Planning ahead is ultimately an act of love, Wendland said.
“One of the greatest gifts you can leave behind isn’t money or possessions, it is certainty. It’s knowing your family won’t be left wondering what you wanted,” Ms Wendland said.
“It’s knowing they can focus on grieving, healing and remembering your life instead of arguing over your wishes. My TAP® is about helping families have today’s conversations so they can avoid tomorrow’s heartbreak.”
About My TAP®
My TAP®, My Time and Place, is an Australian-developed digital legacy planning, lifestyle and end-of-life platform. It helps people securely record their final wishes, life story and cherished memories in one secure place, alongside heartfelt written, audio and video messages, sentimental possessions and important documents. My TAP® complements a Will rather than replacing it, giving users greater control over how its patent-pending Nominee Access Methods preserve and share their wishes. Founders Isla George, Andrew Stephenson and Lisa Wendland created the platform after their own experiences of loss, aiming to help families have today’s conversations for tomorrow. The company has its headquarters in Brisbane and aims to become the world’s most trusted digital legacy planning platform.
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