Gametes-

I know you are all wondering what in the world is a gamete.  Well that is your reproductive material - either sperm or ova.  Why the heck would I, an estate planning attorney, be writing about that.  Well I will tell you.  In this wonderful world of modern medicine, reproductive technology has a tremendous impact on estate planning. The freezing of ova and sperm for later usage is no longer the story line from a science fiction book or movie, it is now almost a common place practice and rapidly expanding. Today - in the U.S. alone there are over 6 million children conceived using some type of reproductive technology. Sometimes these children are born long after a parent/grandparent's death.  These posthumously conceived children are real possibilities and planning for such a possible eventuality - whether it is for your children or grandchildren - is an important component of an estate plan.  So in the interest of being thorough I am going to ask you about your feelings and thoughts with regards whether you would like such children to inherit or not when discussing your estate plan.   It is also important to plan for the eventual disposition of remaining gametes in an estate plan. Thus, I am going to be a bit nosy, and ask you if you are storing genetic material, or if your children are.  I prefer to be proactive and not leave such an important consideration to chance, particularly when there is so little judicial precedent.  I am going to guess that you have some definite opinions as well and would like to see your desires with regards to inheritances for these children set forth in writing.  Of course having an estate plan is even more important for you to create if you are using medical reproductive technologies as there may not be a right under Wisconsin law for posthumously conceived children to inherit if there is no Will.  Thus, if you want to provide for such children you must have a testamentary document in place.