E-MAILS FROM THE GRAVE

The report below may not be exactly genealogy,

but maybe future genealogists should take note.

London - Britons who feel the need to communicate with loved ones from beyond the grave will be able to use a new e-mail service that allows up to 100 messages to be released after their death, it was reported Tuesday.

The Last Messages Club e-mail service, launched on Tuesday, allows personal notes written prior to people's death to be sent to loved ones in the future.

The messages can range from a final love letter, guidance for someone left behind, a list of instructions, details on life insurance and other financial information.

Important documents such as wills and insurance details can also be accessed through the service, and photos, videos and documents may be attached.

Organisers of The Last Messages Club insist their idea is in no way ghoulish but, on the contrary, eases the stress and trauma associated with the death.

A member can write up to 100 e-mails that can be released once they die at times of their choosing, such as when a relative or loved one marries or has a child.

The Last Messages Club works by giving each paying member a secure and private vault. They are then able to create messages to be sent specifically to their chosen recipient.

Geoff Reiss, founder of The Last Messages Club, said: "No one likes to think about their impending 'demise', but it is much better to be fully-prepared, so that there is less stress on your loved ones after you pass away."

Simon Gilligan, 63, from Cambridgeshire, is among the first people to have signed up to the scheme and has written messages to be sent to his wife, children and friends after his death, the Press Association reported.

"It's strange really as it makes you confront your own mortality in a sense," he said. But it also makes you think about smaller details like making sure you remind someone to cancel your bus pass," he said. -- NEWS24.