Did You Know…LEGACY
Did you know….
86% of both “baby boomers” and "elders" rated values and life lessons as the most important LEGACY they could receive or leave. (Allianz, 2012) And it is 10x more important to them than money!
When I learned about the profession of Heritage Design (heritage or legacy planning, values-based planning) I knew in my HEART planning needs to start with the family…NOT THE ASSETS.
Good financial planning and estate planning are important for the health and success of multi-generational families but it is only a part of the equation. Sharing stories, values, life lessons, and identifying a common purpose as a family creates a solid foundation for the planning process. Planning for the success of your assets is good AND planning for the success of your family results in LIVING AND LEAVING a meaningful LEGACY, which is even better!
If 90% of families fail to keep their family and wealth together for more than three generations – I imagine that is true for the family stories too! Only 10% of family stories are documented or recorded and passed on for generations to read, hear, cherish and help keep the memories alive.
So let’s make sure your part of the 10% and start the journey to begin LIVING YOUR LEGACY today! Because it is likely your children/grandchildren are in the 86% of inheritors who feel family stories, values, life lessons are the most important legacy to receive…. and 10 times more important to them than your money.
So take the first step and document What Matters to you:
1) Write down: “WHAT MATTERS?” on a sheet of paper
2) List 5-10 things, values, items, characteristics, traits that are most important to you
3) Now, define what each of them means to you/how you define them
4) And finally, write a story about how you came to value this item and/or the person(s) you learned it from and how.
